


Camp Cretaceous: Unboxed

by ENBYsaurus



Category: Jurassic Park - All Media Types, Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies), Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Death, Dinosaurs, Eating Disorders, Family, Familyofchoice, Fluff, Friendship, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Loss, Loss of Parent(s), Love, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Survival, Survivor Guilt, Tragedy, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:33:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 107,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27431314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ENBYsaurus/pseuds/ENBYsaurus
Summary: Hey all this is a more mature retelling of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. It will explore who the kids were prior to their arrival at the camp, expand upon their stay and relationship developments before the Indominus's escape, and will continue their story after the events of season one.It should be noted that "more mature" does not mean "contains lots of sex" it means that this story will touch on more complex topics such as complicated family lives, the kids various personality traits and flaws, the trauma of witnessing so many deaths, the struggle for survival on the island, and various forms of loss (loss of a loved ones, loss of friendship, loss of one's sense of self are just some examples).This author is also and quite proudly the T, A, and double + in LGBTQIA+ and like it or not I'm writing some representation into the characters of Camp Cretaceous as I see fits them as they are in the show. If you don't like it that was your heads-up and you can go read some of the other fine works on this site, have a good one.
Relationships: Darius Bowman & Brooklynn, Kenji Kon & Ben Pincus, Kenji Kon/Ben Pincus, Yasmina "Yaz" Fadoula/Sammy Gutierrez
Comments: 243
Kudos: 207





	1. Kenji

**Author's Note:**

> BCC stands for "Before Camp Cretaceous"

-Two Months BCC-

Wakefulness slowly, and tactfully probed at the edges of Kenji's consciousness causing him to stir with sluggish heavy limbed movements until with defeated reluctance he opened his eyes. It was too early. With a groan the teen flipped over in bed trying in vain to burrow beneath the pillows and block out the mid-morning light. His struggles to re-enter the realm of sleep quickly became more and more violent, blankets spilling to the floor, and sheets entangling his legs, while goose down absorbed rampant blows as Kenji pummeled his bed in frustration.

Admist the melee a crisp knock rapped on the bedroom door. "Master Kenji, are you awake?"

"Ugh! Why?" he called plaintively. 

"Shall I send for your breakfast?"

"Sure! Why not?" the Kon family heir snapped back.

"Very good sir."

Well, Kenji thought grudgingly, that was it he was up now whether he liked it or not.

Laying in bed for a few minutes more the teenager eventually got up and shuffled to the bathroom, on autopilot. Swaying with sleep as he relieved himself Kenji's thoughts were loosely strung together and incoherent. He flushed, and washed his hands taking a hasty minute to splash water on his face and fix his hair on the way back out. "Looking good!" he smirked groggily at himself firing finger guns for added affect.

From there he found his way to the Osaki, falling back into the recliner and turning on the massage setting. "Oh-h-h yeah-ah-ah-ah." he smiled flipping on the TV as he felt more awake than he had moments ago. 

Predictably there wasn't much on, there never was. Just the same old talk shows peddling made up health and beauty tips to a poor and desperate public. The same old reality shows with manufactured drama glorifying actions typically deemed socially unacceptable. The same old news channels flooded with doom and gloom. Same old, same old, same old. Jesus you'd think with as many options that were available he'd be able to find something to watch! Still navigating through the channels Kenji quickly grew bored and irritable.

"Maybe I should stream something?" he yawned to himself messing with the recliner's settings as he did.

After a while there was another rapid knock on the door. It swung open almost immediately afterwards. A maid entered with a tray balanced on one hand, the accompanying tray table folded in the crease of her elbow. Kenji spared her a brief glance, it was the red head. Ruth, or something Bibley like that, the one with twins around his age, or so she'd mentioned.

Working quickly and attentively the woman presented the meal with a light flourish. "Philly cheese steak omelette, oven roasted potatoes, sourdough toast, grapefruit, mocha latte, and a Mountain Dew on ice." she announced when finished. "Will that be all?"

Kenji looked up to thank the woman and send her away when he saw how she was smiling at him. He'd seen her smile before, laughing with the other staff tucked away in a corner gossiping before they spotted him and scurried away like frightened mice. She had a beautiful smile, the heavy spattering of freckles that seemed almost off putting at times somehow adding to the warmth of the expression. This smile, however, didn't even reach her eyes. It was fake. It was a lie.

Kenji felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. She wasn't happy to see him, not really. The boy glanced at the pair of women who'd come in behind Ruth to make his bed, they hadn't even acknowledged him and instead got right to work. No one was ever happy to see him, Kenji thought to himself, he was just a burden, a chore. Even his dad forced a smile when he walked into the room. They all hated him. Normally this fact wouldn't bother him, just slip past him as a fact of life. This morning however, a fiery anger ignited in the teenager's gut, making him vindictive and callous.

"What is this?" he snapped motioning to the plate.

"Your breakfast, sir." the maid said after a nervous pause.

"Take it back."

"But," the woman started apprehensively. "You put your request in last night."

"Yeah," Kenji scoffed without looking at her. "But that was yesterday's Kenji, today's Kenji just isn't feeling it. Take it back. Bring me something else, I don't know spaghetti or something!"

"Bu-" she went on.

"You know what?" Kenji yelled getting to his feet. "Forget it, I'm not hungry anymore. Get out." he shouted advancing on the woman as she hurriedly gathered the tray. "Get out all of you!"

The staff bundled away the used bedding and rushed out of the room, chased away by an irate teenager who slammed the door loudly at their departure. Leaning against the heavy wood frame Kenji listened to the hushed whispers the women exchanged his brows knit tightly together. Good, he thought dismally, if they were going to hate me anyway at least now they have a reason.

Listening to them leave Kenji looked around the big empty room, taking in all his nice expensive things, television, various consoles, autographed memorabilia, his view of the expansive yard complete with tennis court, and pool just visible through the window. Everything a guy could want. Or almost everything.

Letting out a sigh as he found himself, as he often did, alone.

Making his way back to the bed Kenji neatened out the sheets and spread the new comforter over them before arranging the pillows. Hopping into it he pulled out his phone and snapped a quick selfie being sure to capture the window behind him.

"Just another day in paradise!" he captioned it before posting.

Already it was generating reactions from his friends and followers, some of whom were swift to try and one up him. Kenji stared at the picture for a minute a hollow space forming in his chest the longer he looked. Of all the fake smiles he was constantly surrounded by Kenji himself was probably the worst offender.

Pocketing the device the teen got up and went back to his chair, grabbing a pair of headphones, and starting up a game. "Alright Nazi zombies, let's see what you got!" he said energetically.

A few hours and several different games later and Kenji was sprawled on the floor mindlessly destroying the castle he had been working on for the past month or so. 

"You get lava, and you get lava, and guess what? Surprise, you get lava! Everybody gets lava!" he said sarcastically as the virtual farm animals fled the fiery doom loosed upon them. 

Kenji was bored, and lonely. But mostly bored he lied to himself. It was to the point where he, almost, wished he was at school. Sure it was just a bunch of asshats in academy blazers training to become asshats in Armani always in perpetual competition with one another, but at least he'd have something to do!

Bowling? he thought dismally. Swimming? Bullshit. He didn't feel like doing anything. Maybe he'd just take another nap, he reasoned. Disrupting his train of thought Kenji's stomach rumbled mightily, the teen let his head fall to the floor in defeat.

"Damn it." he muttered into the rug.

Rolling over Kenji pulled out his phone and began assembling an order for pizza and wings being sure to lavish the dish with extra helpings of meat and cheese. He polished off the deal with a liter of cola and pushed send. The 45 minute wait displayed on the screen disheartening. Well, he thought as he got up, he couldn't just lay around all day. Getting dressed Kenji walked out of his room and into a long empty hallway, not a person in sight. The smack of his bare feet walking across the cold marble floors echoed off the walls as he roamed amid artwork his father had bought only to quickly grow bored of.

There was no real destination in mind he was just wandering. The problem with living in such a big house, he thought as marble shifted to sleek purple heart wood, there were too many rooms to ever use them all. Truthfully if he wasn't in one of the rec rooms Kenji never strayed further than his bedroom, the private dining room, and occasionally the main drawing room which had the most comfortable furniture. The rest of the house belonged to his father and Candy, neither of whom he saw unless they sought him out.

Eventually the teen found himself wandering down familiar, but long abandoned passageways, a heaviness coming over him as he ventured on. Soon he found himself bathed with light streaming in from floor to ceiling windows, his pace gradually slowing. His mom had always loved nature, he thought pausing to look out at the thick green grass that stretched out before him. After a while Kenji continued further into the part of the mansion that his mother had made her own. As he did Kenji found himself teleported into a different era, an entirely different world even. All of the cold contemporary art, furniture, and stylized architecture that made up most of the house fell away to a more simple, warm, and almost entirely foreign Japanese aesthetic.

Coming to the door of his mother's private sitting room Kenji paused eyes closed, taking a calming breath before sliding the door open. Warm light spilled out of the room illuminating all of his mother's most treasured possessions. Dusting his feet off the teenager stepped onto the tatami flooring relishing the unique feel, and curling his toes against the mat. The room was sparsely decorated, lanterns hanging from the ceiling, a few neglected bonsai here and there, and a long kotatsu table at the heart of the room. Tears stung Kenji's eyes as he took it all in.

Somehow he always forgot how proud of their heritage and in touch with their roots his mother had been. Then, like now, it would all come flooding back. Looking around fondly memories of sunlit afternoons spent in here drinking tea, napping under the warm table, and struggling to learn the brush strokes of kanji, his meager attempts still framed proudly upon the walls came back to him. He remembered late night tales of yokai, or stories of what it was like growing up in Japan with grandma and grandpa Sato.

As Kenji walked around his nostalgia suddenly took a bitter turn. All of that was when he was little though, before school, before peer pressure. Before becoming just another asshat. Ruefully Kenji remembered when he first realized that his mother was the only one with a foriegn accent, and cringing whenever she spoke. He recalled how embarrassed he was each day at school to unpack the bento box she had carefully assembled with smiling faces while his friends who were enjoying what the school had catered mocked him for it because only the help was supposed to cook. He remembered how none of the other parents were involved with school or active in the PTA, but his mother was, she rocked the boat and advocated for things that shouldn't have mattered to her like cultural study, black history month, and ending standardized testing. He remembered asking his mom to stay home, not to talk to his friends, to stop making a fuss, to stop embarrassing him, to just 'be normal.'

Exhaling a shaky breath Kenji half blinded by tears made his way to one of the tiny trees sitting beside the window. Running his hand over the unattended branches which were jagged, and over grown, he picked up the clippers.

"Hey mom," he started. "It's been a while. I'm uh, I'm doing good. I know I haven't talked to you in a while, but-" Kenji frowned, there weren't any good excuses. "I'm sorry." 

"Anyway, I've really been into model building lately, cars mostly. I'm not really that good at it, I'm not actually really good at anything, but it's kinda fun. At least, I like it anyways. Even if the cars look weird." he trailed off, looking distractedly for thread to tie with when he came across a section of the bonsai that could use some reshaping. 

"I beat my all time record on the KISS pinball machine, yeah, that was cool. No, more braces either, so that's nice. Oh! Oh my God, get this!" he laughed. "So some of the guys at school were messing around and I don't know why but Teddy ate so many chocolate laxatives that when he stood up in class you could hear this rumble and before anyone could react he shits himself right there in front of everyone! Oh my God it was great!" the teen crackled. "He hasn't been back since oh man it was so embarrassing I would have literally die-" Kenji's words caught tight leaving him unable to finish his sentence.

Tidying the rest of the plant up in silence Kenji guiltily set the healthier, happier looking tree aside and retrieved another. "Speaking of school I promise to do better. I mean it this time, and I'll stop hanging out with those losers... I was doing good, really good for a while, all As just like I told you I would. But Dad, he didn't... Dad doesn't care about that kind of stuff, not like you did- do! Not like you do, Mom. It just hurt, it just really fucki- freaking sucked you know? I was trying so hard and he didn't even see it, didn't even see me! So I stopped. I stopped working in class, I stopped doing my homework, I just stopped. But guess what? He hasn't noticed that either! Big surprise! I guess it's because he doesn't care about me."

"I miss you mom," Kenji said, voice wavering as he swallowed past a lump in his throat. "It's been so hard without you. You were my best friend, and the only person who really cared about me, and I pushed you away because you were different, because being friends with your mom was lame, because I wanted to be cool, to be just like everyone else, but everyone else sucks!" he shouted vision obscured by falling tears. "I miss you so much!" he sobbed. "And I miss dad too, but he doesn't give a shit! I just- I just miss you. I miss you mom!"

The teenager leaned heavily onto the table consumed by a grief and remorse that still felt so strong and new, even after four years. She had been taken from him so suddenly all of the warning signs missed and overlooked until the heart attack became sudden cardiac arrest. By then it was too late, she had been tired and laid down for a nap, and never woke up. That was the hard part, Kenji thought, he didn't know, didn't have a chance to say goodbye, to say he loved her, to say sorry for all the things he'd said and done only to later regret.

Wiping his face after a few minutes Kenji willed himself to stop, clearing his throat hard a few times the teen forced a smile. "Sorry mom." he said. "I'll come talk to you again later, and I promise not to be such a baby."

Clearing this throat again the young man set the room back in order before heading towards the door, still trembling with bitter emotions. He paused at the threshold the small bottle of perfume resting on the end table capturing his attention. Why not? he mused to himself picking up the delicate, nearly empty glass vessel. Spraying it on his inner wrist rubbed them both together. Closing his eyes and inhaling the light fruity scent of fig tea, a comforting warmth washed over Kenji, and he could recall his mother's laughter.

"I love you mom."

Ambling back down the hall towards his room Kenji couldn't help but give the perfume a smell from time to time, wondering absentmindedly if his pizza had arrived yet or not. Rounding a corner pivoting haphazardly on his heel the teen jumped back in surprise after nearly colliding with his father.

"Dad!" he gasped, startled. Watching as the tall, stately man smoothed out the crisp lines of his suit with irritation. "I mean hi, um what's up?" Kenji asked offering a half smile.

"Kenji." his father said nodding briefly, looking preoccupied as ever.

"I ordered pizza, wanna grab a slice, and watch a movie if you have a minute?" the teen asked hopefully, though he already knew the answer, his father never had a minute, at least not for him.

"We have a dinner tonight." the man said turning to Candy who had been walking behind him. "Speaking of, I see you best in something elegant and formal, without restricting yourself to formality. Something reminiscent of a peacock, a rhinestone bodice, with a slight train I think."

Candy smiled and nodded looking between father and son. "If you think so. I was thinking, maybe something in pink, or lavender since I've been wearing a lot of blue?"

"I do, and blue is your color." the man stated, the leading authority on the happenings beneath his roof. "I'll get someone to arrange your wardrobe." he added pulling out his cell and sending out some sort of memo.

"What, uh, what should I wear?" Kenji asked rocking from heel to toe and back again.

Xi, who went by Josiah in public, but especially with his business partners waved at his son dismissively. "You won't be coming, there are no children at this event." Kenji's heart sank, but it figured. Stepping aside, head down the teenager continued towards his room.

Moving past him still tapping away at his phone Xi stopped, pocketing it suddenly, and turned on the boy with narrowed eyes. "I thought I told you that you aren't to disturb your mother's things!" he shouted taking both Kenji and Candy by surprise.

The teen's eyebrows knit tightly together for a moment before he let a practiced look of disinterest come over his features as he internally questioned how his dad knew. "The bonsai needed to be trimmed." Kenji shrugged as though he were above the conversation.

"Am I to assume that wearing her perfume was a necessity as well?" he asked gritting his teeth, causing Kenji's heart to squeeze anxiously, he'd never seen his father so angry. "That was an anniversary present I gave to Meiko before you were born. How dare you!"

"Josiah, sweetheart, its alright." Candy cut in, putting a hand on man's arm trying to turn him away. "He just missed his mom was all, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. Besides, I'm sure she wouldn't have minded, would she?"

Kenji listened as his father's girlfriend talked about his mom, angry flames of resentment reigniting in his gut until he snapped. "Stay out of this Candy! You have no right to talk about my mom! Who do you think you are huh? You're just some gold digging slut who graduated the same year I started highschool!" he bellowed.

The stinging pain in the side of Kenji's face shocked him, he looked mouth hanging open at his father who had slapped him. "Josiah!" Candy shrieked, her hands flying to cover her mouth.

"You are irresponsible, disrespectful, and ungrateful." Xi said his tone calm and reserved. "You show no initiative, no desire for self-improvement, no personal accountability, and no ambition. I am supposed to leave my company to you? Perhaps the summer program at Fishbourne Military Academy would be a better use of your upcoming free time."

"Yeah," Kenji said in a tear strained voice. "Maybe it would."

Rushing away Kenji slammed his bedroom door, grabbing things at random hurling them at the walls before falling to the bed utterly spent. His dad hit him, the teen thought with disbelief. His dad had never hit him before he had hardly ever raised his voice before. Hugging his pillow the young man stewed for several minutes before noticing the pie sitting on a tray table nearby. Eating miserably in bed he flipped on the television and started surfing.

Kenji wasn't sure exactly when he dozed off, but the knocking on the door that woke him to a darkened sky told the teenager it had been several hours since. "Yeah?" he grumbled sitting up.

"Hey," Candy smiled inching the door open. Kenji didn't say anything, instead he rummaged around the cardboard boxes on his bed and grabbed a cold hot wing. "I don't want to fight. I just wanted to apologise." she said. "I'm sorry for what I said, you're right it wasn't my place. I never knew your mother, and I can't speak for her. All I know is what I've heard about her from you and your dad, she sounds wonderful... I just know what it's like to lose a parent and to want to have a little piece of them with you."

Kenji looked at Candy with a brow arched questioningly, he didn't know that about her. The teen noticed that she wasn't wearing any makeup, her eyes dark and swollen like she'd been crying, hair down and messy, and she was wearing sweatpants.

"I just wanted you to know that I've never wanted to replace her, and I'm not trying to... Honestly, some days I'm not even sure what I'm doing here." the woman laughed. "I've never been in love before now, not really. I've had boyfriends. All I know is it feels different, feels more real somehow with your dad then with anyone else... It's ok though, I can't ask you not to hate me, but maybe you can tolerate me?"

"Sure, whatever." Kenji muttered. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for your important dinner?"

"No." Candy said shaking her head. "I'm not going."

"Why not?" Kenji scoffed.

"Because," Candy said firmly. "He shouldn't have hit you. If he's going to act like an ass he can look like an ass and go to his fancy little party by himself."

The teen blinked taken aback.

"Oh," Candy said as she turned to leave. "I also talked your dad. You're not going to military camp. I tried suggesting the penthouses at Jurassic World, you know so you can get away, and give yourself a break? He wouldn't go for it, he wants you to have some type of supervion, rules. He remembered that Masrani is trial running something called 'Camp Cretaceous.' It was the best I could do, sorry. Well, I guess I'll leave you alone now. Goodnight Kenji."

"Candy," the boy called, he knew he should apologize, felt guilty for what he had said to her and yet couldn't bring himself to say the words. "Thanks."

Kenji knew that Candy wasn't that bad, not really. She was boarder line nice even, tonight being a prime example. Still, some part of the teen couldn't let go of his hostility, his hatred towards her. Gnawing on the chicken bone Kenji's thoughts turned to his father. Maybe, he thought, he'd crash the Benz during his next driving lesson that would teach his dad! he brooded.


	2. Sammy

-Six Weeks BCC-

The sky outside was a dusty lavender, stars slowly fading into the background as the sun creeped towards the horizon, gradually shedding light onto the slumbering world below. Sammy Gutierrez however, was already wide awake and gearing up to start her day. Sitting on the end of her disheveled bed she brushed her hair, wincing each time she over reached, still struggling to get used to the new length. The rough bristles scraped against the back of her neck like cactus barbs, still, she couldn't help but smile.

All Sammy had ever wanted as a child was long flowing hair just like her mom, and when her thick raven locks finally came in glossy and elegant, what did she do? Chopped it all off. It was worth it, she reasoned with herself, and for a good cause. Glancing at the thank you card from Wigs for Kids framed in the fairy lights strung everywhere in her room, the girl couldn't help but wonder if they were going to send her a picture of the recipient. I hope it helps, she added to the thought, a silent prayer to whoever might be listening.

Giving herself a quick look over in vanity, Sammy smoothed out a sleep spiked eyebrow and smiled. "Perfect."

Decked out in jeans and plain tee the girl took a long breath, trying to mentally prepare for the day. It was gonna be long, hot, and hard. They had round up, brand and vaccinate all of the new stock, split the herd to allow regrowth in the west pasture, spray each and every head down with insecticidal pour-on, and then to make life interesting get the bulls in with the heifers who were ready for their first season just so they could start the same process all over again! Rotating stock was the key her father said. It only took eighty days for a cow to be ready to breed again after calving, and that was quite literally the lifeblood of the family ranch.

Heading out of her room Sammy paused at her sister's door when she heard Marisa in there muttering angrily to herself. Cracking the door she peeked in to see her peering with scrutiny at her own reflection, before pulling another blouse out of the closet, holding it up briefly, and then tossing it to the floor.

"Looking good chica!" Sammy said beaming brightly, as she used the tried and true knock-while-already-barging-in technique. 

"Um, yeah right!" her sister snapped back throwing her arms in the air for added affect. Sammy couldn't help but smile, where was the little girl of yesterday? She wondered.

"No, seriously, tell me. What's wrong?" Sammy implored, putting a hand on each of Marisa's shoulders and turning her back to the mirror.

"Everything!" the girl groaned pulling away. "I'm all arms and legs, none of my clothes fit right. Look at me I'm a freak!"

"You're not a freak!" Sammy rolled her eyes.

"Give me some of your curves and maybe I won't be." Marisa said reaching out and smacking her big sister on the butt. "I'm flat as a freaking board!"

Sammy stared the young teen incredulously hands on her hips. "Marisa para que? We just need to accesorieze and show off what you do got! Besides you're not done growing yet."

"You mean this Slenderman situation is going to get worse?" Marisa cried out before collapsing backwards with a dramatic flair onto her bed. 

"Get up!" Sammy laughed rummaging through her sister's piles of clothes, sniffing the odd piece of apparel here and there. "How are you know which ones are clean?" she muttered half to herself as she shifted the piles about.

"Here, stand-up." Sammy commanded a bright dip dyed scarf with a sporadic pattern of sequence in hand. When Marisa continued to lay there moaning as if she stood at death's door the older teen grabbed her by both wrists and began hauling her up. "Come on!"

Heaving a sigh as Marisa stood there like a lame duck Sammy began threading the scarf through her belt loops. "How old are you? I'm still getting you dress. Why?" she muttered before delving into the closet once more, regretting not having put the blouse aside when she'd seen it. "This, and this." she commanded handing over a white camisole, and a brightly colored flannel. 

Turning around so her sister could change Sammy was secretly relishing this moment, she was lucky to have a family as amazing and loving as hers. Not every girl in her position could say the same. When the grunting and groaning behind her reached a crescendo of melancholy and doom the older girl grinned. "Can I turn around?"

"Sure, witness the disaster first hand!" Marisa snapped.

Well, Sammy conceded, she was right none of her clothes seemed to fit anymore. Marisa stood looking like a scarecrow her gangly arms outstretched, the purple and blue flannel wrinkled and baggy around her arms, every last button done up, right up to her chin. Sammy's brows knit together. "Are you going to church?" she asked walking over and unbottoning the noose. "Daddy taught me the 'sometimes, always, never' rule for buttoning and-"

"That's for men's suits dummy." Marisa cut it.

Sammy paused, was it? "It's universal." she waved her hand dismissively. "Sometimes," she said indicating to the top button. "Always," she motioned to the one in the middle. "Never." she declared unfastening the bottom button. "Now," Sammy announced turning Marisa once again towards the looking glass. "This is a good look for at home, and working. You can roll your sleeves if you get hot, tuck it, untuck it, stop laughing or I'm leaving, it's an overall great look! But, and if you tell daddy I gave you permission I'll deny it. You can undo all the buttons and tie it around your waist, or a little higher for school or hanging out with friends. But I swear to God if I see any skin," she said poking Marisa in her stomach. "Before your fifteenth birthday I'm gonna tell Abuela to call the convent and have the sisters come and take you away!"

"Ok, ok, I get it!" Marisa giggled appraising her new outfit combination in the mirror, giving the excess material of her makeshift belt a twirl. "I like it. Thanks sis."

"What can I say? It's a gift! Now, makeup!" Sammy gushed.

"Makeup? Do we have time daddy needs our help today."

"There's always time for makeup, and we won't be late." Sammy assured seating her sister before her dresser, pushing Ana the more popular of the twins things to the side and breaking out the goods.

There was nothing better in all the world than an impromptu makeover Sammy felt, delicately sweeping eyeshadow over her sister's eyes. Achieving the smokey look almost effortlessly. She didn't wear makeup often, especially when lending a hand around the ranch and when she did Sammy preferred a more subtle natural look and made her feel like a real girl. Because she was a real girl, she thought irritated with herself.

"Hey!" Georgia's voice cut through the calming bliss of a spa morning. "Mama sent me to tell you breakfast, but I wanna play dress up too!"

"We're not playing dress up," Marisa scoffed at the six year old. "We're getting dressed. You wouldn't understand the difference shorty."

"No fair, I'm telling!"

"No, it's ok," Sammy giggled scooping her up and plopping her on the dresser. "Come here and let's give you some war paint!"

A little while later and the trio all made up walked into the kitchen where there mother Rosa, who was as big as a house with the baby, was moving with shocking ease, clearly in her element racing back and forth between oven, range, and table. When she spotted them standing in the doorway the woman snatched the dish towel off of her shoulder and began smacking them on their rears. 

"Quick, quick, don't just stand there get to work!" she commanded motioning to this morning's spread. Meanwhile their grandmother, who sat on a stool nearby stirring a stockpot laughed at the spectacle. Everything was a frantic pelt for a minute their mother scolding them, saying they wouldn't be exempt from kitchen work on field days anymore if they didn't get the table set rapido, and not to expect to sleep in anymore once summer rolled around prompting complaints from Marisa who felt that slumber party or not Ana should have been there to help too.

Soon the table was stacked high with eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, potatoes, cheese, peppers, onions, mushrooms, soup, diced fruit, toast, tortillas, milk, juices, coffee, and various condiments, all of it steaming hot and delicious. Clattering a fork against her big metal triangle first in the hallway, then out the back door their mother called the family for mealtime, and it wasn't long before bodies started piling in along the benches on either side of the long table.

"What are you wearing?" their dad asked motioning to his two oldest when he walked in. "We're branding today not going to prom! Georgia, uh, what are you playing dress up as huh?" he sighed knowing he was losing ground under his roof, outnumbered six, soon to be seven, to one.

"I'm not playing dressed up dad, I'm just dressed, you wouldn't understand." she said earning laughter from her sisters as she tossed her hair with flair.

"No, don't lie to me, you're dressed up as a party clown aren't you?" he asked picking her up and tickling her stomach. "Should I find you a barrel to hide in and throw you in with the bulls, huh? Huh?"

"Mijo, mijo!" Abuela called catching Sammy's attention, motioning for her to come over. "Don't listen to him you look so pretty this morning. Prettiest girl in all Mexico."

"Hey, what about me mama?" Sammy's mother cut in as she leaned against the counter fanning herself.

"Nose." was all Abuela said before laughing manically.

"Mama!" the woman gasped covering her face.

"Don't listen to her!" Sammy's dad said grabbing her by the substantial waist and pulling her close. "I love your big beautiful beak." he said pecking her on the nose.

"Beak? Beak?" his wife shrieked trying to pull away as her husband dotted her with even more kisses.

"Mijo, mijo," Abuela said again tapping Sammy on the arm. "I have something for you." she said pushing a caramel into her palm before cupping Sammy's face lovingly with gnarled arthritic fingers. "Beautiful."

"Thank you, Abuela." the girl said giving her a long kiss on the forehead.

"I don't want to hear any complaining from either of you when those hoops get ripped out of your ears today." her dad was saying as he took a hearty scoop of eggs and passed the platter down.

"You won't." the girls said almost in unison as their cousins chuckled and elbowed each other.

"Did you take your vitamins?" Rosa asked looking pointedly at Sammy.

"Ugh mama trust me that's something I won't forget!" the teen grumbled tearing off a piece of tortilla.

"Don't you 'ugh mama' me! I read stories, I don't want you to get sick. Que?" the woman snapped motioning dangerously with a wooden serving spoon.

"Si mama." Sammy relented kicking her cousin Abryan under the table as he whispered mockingly to his brother.

"'Si mama,' better. Don't you mess with the pregnant woman, I will beat you and when the police come they'll take one look and me and say, 'that girl deserved whatever her mama did!'" her mother remarked before smacking the table to gain her nephews attention. "Same for you boys, it takes 30 minutes for the CPS people to come I mapped it, that's 30 whole minutes of you, me, and whatever is in arm's reach."

"Si tía." they muttered as all around the table people smirked to themselves.

Abruptly squeezing himself between Marisa and Sammy, Theo came to the table late and enthusiastically began pouring himself orange juice. The overwhelming scent of spearamint flaring her nostrils Sammy couldn't help but look down at him quizzically. "Did you brush your teeth before breakfast?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded. "I like the way it tastes!"

Everybody shrieked the children recoiling and bumping into one another on the benches while the adults laughing humorously called for composure. "Get outta here you little psycho!" Sammy laughed tickling the boy. "With your brushed teeth OJ!"

After breakfast, the work day began. As expected it was long, hot, and terrible. First they corralled the cattle and walked around the big pen with low pressured sprayers dousing them with them with a bug repellent that killed off any ticks, fleas, and mites they had while driving off flies and mosquitoes. Afterwards they separated the calves, penning them into short stalls with heavy bars on either side to hold them still. Pumping them full of vaccines, a quick clip to the ear with the tagging gun, and few seconds of the red hot brand against their skin and they were free to return to their mothers.

It hurt Sammy's heart to hear the calves crying, the putrid odor of burnt hair, and charred flesh stinging her nose, but it had to be done. One by one she and Abryan worked on their lot as midday, a light lunch, and long break grew steadily nearer. Wiping the sweat from her brow they chatted casually about school. He and his brother stayed with her family throughout the school year, same with the cousins from her mom's side, but soon they'd all go back home for the summer and her father would need to hire some seasonal hands, so Sammy was trying to enjoy the good conversations while they lasted.

"Hey," Abryan said suddenly tapping the girl's shoulder, and pointing somewhere across the corral. "It's those guys again."

Standing Sammy shielded her gaze, eyes narrowed. In the distance she saw a gleaming black car parked near the house, and a pair of men in suits talking to her father. She'd seen them periodically, they were always interested in some type of business or another but her father refused to talk to Sammy about what they wanted exactly. Instead he would tell her that they were snake oil salesmen, and not to worry, he'd handle things. This time things were different, she could see her dad was angry, shouting, even though she couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Dropping the tag gun the girl marched towards the intruders. Something was wrong, and this time she was going to find out what it was.

As she got nearer Sammy could hear her father saying, "I don't care, we aren't doing it, you can find someone else to be your patsy! Now you and your boys get off my land, this is private property." 

Getting ready to call out to him the girl paused something out of the corner of her eye catching her attention. There in the middle of the corral Marisa stood looking nervous a sprayer clutched tightly as a third suit talked and smiled at her. Sammy's blood began to boil as she quickly changed course, shouting angrily when the man reached a hand out and touched her sister on the shoulder.

"Hey!" Sammy called. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"We're just talking." the man with neatly combed blond hair and a perfect smile said in a tone she felt was supposed to be charming.

"Yeah well she's fourteen," Sammy said putting herself between Marisa and the man. "You have absoluely no business talking to her whatsoever, none."

Smiling again the man took a step back arms open. "I was only trying to-"

"Listen, I've castrated bulls that weigh in over two-thousand pounds buddy, do not push me!" she said jabbing a finger into his chest before turning to Marisa. "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah, nothing happened." Marisa said glancing apprehensively between the two of them.

"Did it make you uncomfortable?" Sammy asked sternly. Her sister nodded. "Then something did happen. No one is allowed to make you feel unsafe, ever."

"He said if I did him a favor I could save the ranch." Marisa explained.

Sammy turned on the suit with fire in her eyes.

"Whoa! Whoa! No! You're misunderstanding the situation," he said hands lifted defensively as he took another hasty step back. "It wasn't like that I just had a proposition for her- not like that either more of a business transaction." he fumbled watching as Abryan and the others came to flank her on either side armed with various farming tools, Abryan's quick fingers knotting a rope into a makeshift club which he smacked threateningly into his palm.

"Have you heard of Jurassic World? Owned by Mazrani Global?" the guy said quickly realizing that he was out matched. "What am I saying of course to do, well I work for a company called Mantah Corp, a company your dad owes a lot of money to. We just needed a favor to get a leg up on the competition is all, and we can forget the debt."

"And what does my _underage _sister have to do with any of that?" Sammy asked angrily.__

____

"We've got an in to Jurassic World through a kids summer program, that's all I swear." he said pulling out a business card and a pen. "But you seem like a clever girl, real head on your shoulders, someone who could get the job done. Wanna give me an email? I can send you the details."

____

Looking skeptically from the creep to her dad who was still arguing with the other two the teen snatched the card from his hand and jotted down her information before handing it back. "Sammypajammyg@gmail.com, cute." he smirked before pocketing it.

____

"Yeah, sure, real cute." she said stepping up to him seething. "But if you ever come near my sister again you and me are gonna take a trip to my tio's. He raises pigs, you understand me?"

____

The guy looked her up and down in an evaluating manner, smiled, nodding to the group of teens who advanced on him slightly and walked away. Sammy took a shuddering breath, she was quaking with rage and anxiety all over, heart pounding, limbs cold despite the heat, and she was fairly certain she was going to throw up. The girl hated confrontation. Hugging Marisa close she kissed her on the top of her head, feeling her trembling as well, she was just glad that everyone was ok.

____

"Sam the Man!" Abryan whooped, boxing her in the shoulder as the black car drove off. "I forgot you were such a badass!"

____

"Yeah, well, don't make that mistake again." she muttered still hugging her sister.

____

"Oh my God!" Abryan gasped looking a little paler all of a sudden. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! It just slipped out!"

____

Sammy turned and looked at him like the idiot he was. "No stupid, I can still be 'the man' without having to be _a _man. I meant don't you ever forget I'm a badass!" she grinned punching him back in a way that said "no hard feelings."__

______ _ _

Later that night Sammy lay in bed, struggling to keep her eyes open as outside her room she could hear her family members starting to drop off to sleep one after the other. After she was sure the coast was clear the girl pulled out her phone and switched on private browsing. It only took her a few minutes to gather some basic information on Mantah Corp. They were a genetics company who had been in the dinosaur race with what was once called InGen, and another company called Biosyn, but had lost. Unlike Biosyn however, she couldn't find much else or even recent activities, they were like a ghost.

______ _ _

Her phone pinged, startling Sammy who quickly muted notifications. Tapping on the little envelope she opened an email, it read simply "For Miss S. Gutierrez," and had several files attached to it.

______ _ _

Opening the first file Sammy's brows furrowed as she found herself staring at what appeared to be a legal coversheet. The next page was just a header and the Mantah Corp company logo which looked like some sort of scorpion lion thing in the center. Then it was a spreadsheet she couldn't make much sense of, then another, and another. Then she came to a page filled with numbers, charges, withdrawals, interest accumulation, and finally a closing sheet. Confused she opened up the next file she was greeted by a similar coversheet, and another logo page. After that there were several pages of scanned checks, all with her father's signature. Page, after page of checks. Suddenly the first file with all it's large sums was beginning to make sense.

______ _ _

"Oh no, daddy." she whispered, heart fluttering in her chest and tears welling in her eyes.

______ _ _

After that was page after page of numbers some positive, some negative, some in black, others in an ominous red. Then she came across an image that chilled the teen to her core, the deed to the ranch. Quickly throwing the blankets over her head as she lost her composure Sammy bit down on her pillow reigning in a terrified, heartbroken cry. Tears streaming down her face she struggled to contain herself as everything inside felt shattered.

______ _ _

They were going to lose everything! She thought desperately. Everything! What, she wondered, could have happened to get them to this point? How long had her father been hiding their financial trouble? Sammy felt like she was going to explode with sorrow as a deep hopelessness swallowed her whole. As silently as possible the girl laid in bed weeping in hollow, ragged breaths.

______ _ _

After a several minutes the worst of it had past and she dared pull out phone again, opening up the third and final file, her hands shaking. Again a cover page, logo, and- "Redacted" the page was filled with thick black bars obscuring whatever text had been there the solitary word stamped menacingly in the corner. The next page exactly the same. The third page contained only a few lines of text amid the bars, but nothing that made sense out of context. Then something about shareholding, the ranch, and a contract. A few more pages entirely blacked out, then something about Mazrani Global, the logo of Jurassic World a familiar sight. Then something about debt forgiveness in exchange for the "acquisition of degradable, biological specimens, and vital documentation acquired onsite for the purpose of ... and ... by the ... and ... ..." 

______ _ _

The following pages seemed more like a shopping list than anything else, with names and photographs of different sorts of dinosaurs, and plants, a few schematics were even thrown in followed by even more pages that were entirely blacked out.

______ _ _

Her own breath uncomfortably hot on her face from hiding beneath the blankets Sammy tried to work through everything she had just read. Blinking rapidly as she felt a fresh wave of tears coming on the girl was already trying to figure out how to confront her father over this newly acquired information. Her phone vibrated suddenly, startling her.

______ _ _

Looking at it she saw another email from Mantah Corp. Hesitantly she opened it. "Your father already turned down our very generous offer." It read. "So now it's up to you to decide, you have 5 weeks to make your choice. We look forward to hearing from you." and then the logo again.

______ _ _

Turning off her phone screen and uncovering her face Sammy starred into the darkness above her bed. What was she going to do? She thought. What else could she do? There was no other choice, she resolved, she had to help her family. A few stress induced tears burned at her eyes, and before Sammy knew it she was crying again.

______ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA: Don't mess with Sammy's family.
> 
> Also I was worried I would take a while to get this chapter out because Kenji's took me a little over a week, but Sammy's chapter just flowed! I can't say they'll all be that easy, but at least I have everything plotted out and outlined! Thanks for reading! :)


	3. Brooklynn

-Four Weeks BCC-

With the familiar warm lump of Skittles, her mom Nika's chihuahua pinning down the blankets Brooklynn rolled over lazily in bed, her long hair clinging to her face like a veil. Spitting a few strands from her mouth with aggravation as she did. Almost immediately afterwards the teen felt the danty footsteps of the dog walking up and over the comparative mountain of a girl as Skittles sought to reclaim her position right up against Brooklynn's stomach. Smiling with secret adoration, though she had maintained for years her hatred 'the rat' Brooklynn pet the minute canine, scratching behind her big floppy ears earning a joyful whimper, and much trembling characteristic of the breed.

"Morning." the girl muttered with a yawn.

Stretching Brooklynn reached blindly, hand tapping first the bed, then air, and finally her nightstand in search of her phone. When at last her fingers brush the cold smooth surface of the screen she reflexively grabbed hold of the device like it was a lifeline and pulled it towards her. Clutching it tightly to her chest Brooklynn began reviewing her plans for the day. It was the weekend, so she didn't have much in the way of responsibilities except maybe walking the dog, and taking out the trash. Stretching again, this time more luxuriously than before Brooklynn curled around Skittles content with the fact that she could spend the entire day in bed if she wanted to.

Gradually drifting back to sleep she couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something, something important. After trying and failing to remember what it was the teen gave up trying and blissfully gave into slumber once again.

Moments later she jolted upright in bed, sending the frightened chihuahua tumbling to the floor where she lay sprawled. "Oh my God, Skittles I'm sorry!" Brooklynn gasped leaning over the edge of the mattress and scooping up the dog who seemed very sorry for whatever she had done to deserve being thrown out of the bed, tail wagging despite being tucked between her legs.

The poll! Brooklynn thought frantically to herself as she unlock her phone. How could she have forgotten about the poll? Today was the big day after all. Logging into her diversified range of social media accounts Brooklynn hastily scrolled through comments, fan letters, and follower notifications until she found what she had been looking for. The results of all the tallied votes charted out in neat little bar graphs with percentages recorded below them. Ravenously devouring the results, a broad grin breaking out on her face the teenage influencer leaped out of bed and rushed down the short hall to the bathroom. Filled to the brim with excitement she gave her teeth a quick once over, neatened up her hair a bit, and wiped the lingering drool from her chin before she started streaming.

"Good morning Brooklanders, it's your girl Brooklynn- woop woop!" she called enthusiastically, holding her phone at arm's length, ensuring that it was facing her at a flattering, downward angle. "I hope you're all as pumped and excitied as I am because today is it the big day! Do-do-do-do!" the teen said keeping up the hype as she made her way, backwards, into the kitchen where her moms caught off guard were enjoying their morning coffee. Nika wiped the cream cheese icing from the corner of her mouth, eyes wide with embarrasent as she stared at the phone. "As you can see it's my mom's month this month, let's hear it for online school enabling this new, incredible visitation schedule! And if you're new to the channel TLDR: divorce, totally chic lesbian glow up for my mom, and I still travel with my dad, but enough about me, let's talk about you, and more importantly let's talk about what you voted for! Ladies can we get a drumroll please?"

Still smiling Brooklynn watched as a little apprehensively at first the two women began drumming on the table, quickly building momentum. "That's right, the results are in, I asked for your opinions and you gave them! The winning color is: Flaming Flamingo! That's right Brooklanders say goodbye to my drab dishwater brown and hello to bright luxurious pink!" she announced energetically, roughing her free hand through her still bedraggled locks.

"Hurray!!!" Candice, her bio mom cheered leaning further into frame.

"Boo, I voted for Jaded Jaguar!" Nika said through a mouthful of food, gesturing with a thumbs down to the audience.

"Well folks, we got some mixed results here!" Brooklynn laughed into the camera as her step mom loudly demanded a recount. "That's all for now, see you ladies and gentleman real soon, and when I do it will be at the salon where this girl is gonna be on fire!"

Beaming brightly as she stopped filming Brooklynn couldn't help but get a flutter in her chest as she saw all the hearts and smiley faces rolling in, and comment after comment began forming an orderly queue below her vid. "Can't wait to see the new look! :D" said one, "Your moms are too cute!!! How did you luck out with 2 great fams when I can't even get one #fosterkid looking forward to the pink!" read another, "I voted for Purple Python, but you'll look cute no matter what color you dye your hair! :-*" read one more.

Brooklynn felt, loved, accepted, worth while when she saw all of the wonderful things people were saying to and about her. It was a warm comforting feeling that seemed to wash over her like a wave. Still standing in the middle of the kitchen she happily basked in the glow of their affection giggling, or smirking to herself as she absorbed line after line of text from her followers.

"So, we're chic now?" Nika asked head propped on her hand, fingers drumming her cheek irritably. "Your chic lesbian moms... You know you don't always have to be 'on,' and you don't have to put us on the spot either."

Brooklynn who was listening better than Nika was probably aware felt a pang of guilt, her smile fading some as she made her way to the table and slid into a chair, eyes still locked on the screen as she did.

"You're only upset because she caught you stuffing your face!" Candice chuckled before an uncomfortable expression crossed her face. Catching the look out of the corner of her eye Brooklynn shifted in her seat uncomfortably aware of how her parents were now looking at her. Pretending not to notice the girl began tapping out replies to her followers, her mom realizing the taboo of what she had said too late. "Besides, you can't be too upset, she did just call you my glow up." Candice went on quickly trying to save the conversation.

"That's because I am your glow up." Nika said in a matter of fact tone. "She's just stating facts at this point."

There was another moment of silence before Nika cleared her throat. "Sweety, all I'm saying is if your veiwers were really fans I'm sure they'd like you for who you are, not just all the fancy places you go, or stuff you review, or the crazy things you do because they tell you to. Because doing all of that makes you just another internet personality. Why don't you show them the real Brookie-Wookie?" she asked her tone gentle but probing. "Come on, do the thing." the woman smirked after a second, reaching over and tickling the girl's side. "Do the thing!"

"No!" Brooklynn laughed squirming away. "I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Aw, but you'll always be my little Brookie-Wookie! Come on, do the thing, for me?" Nika pleaded her tickle attack going two handed.

"Ok, ok!" Brooklynn conceded, but only after nearly dropping her phone. Still giggling it took a moment to compose herself enough to do it. Taking a breath, cheeks sore from trying to surpress another bout of laughter Brooklynn let out a gargling like call before cracking and subcoming to a fit giggles, both of them forgetting their previous irritation in an instant.

"Yay! My favorite little Wookie!" Nika, who had convinced Candice to get matching lightsaber tattoos, shouted hugging her tight with affection.

"Here," Candice chuckled watching them with love in her eyes. "They're nice and hot." she announced pushing a large plate of cinnamon rolls towards her daughter.

Brooklynn hesitated, staring at the sweets, a sudden bout of anxiety kicking her in the stomach, and causing her heart to race. She couldn't eat that! She thought, panicked as she looked at the sticky, sugary rolls. If these were Pillsbury brand, she thought, which they usually were at her moms' they'd be about 150-160 calories a roll, she reasoned trying to recall what the nutritional guide on the little cardboard cylinder said. Then if she had creamer in her coffee that was an additional 40 calories a tablespoon which would throw off her whole- Brooklynn forced herself to stop thinking eyes squeezed tightly shut. Breathe, she told herself as she unconsciously touched the MIC-KEY button that was hidden under her pajama shirt.

Candice cleared her throat before softly asking, "You, aren't calculating again are you?"

"I'm fine." Brooklynn assured her with a dismissive smile before quickly snatching one of the rolls from the plate. You can do this, the teenager thought to herself, trying to get amped, though the thought of actually eating it nauseated her. It's all in your head, just eat half, it'll be ok, she continued to reason with herself. "It's just really sweet first thing in the morning and I was wondering if we had any cantaloupe, or grapefruit?" she heard herself saying, a familiar response, one she could tell had let her mothers down.

"We might," Nika nodded getting up to pour herself another mug of coffee, getting one for her daughter as she did so. "But, not until after you get some real food in your body. I can make eggs if you'd rather."

"No I'm ok," Brooklynn said accepting the piping hot beverage, very aware that the creamer was being not so subtly nudged towards her from across the table.

"You better enjoy that coffee," Candice said after a minute. "It's the last of the good stuff until payday, all we've got left is instant."

"What?" Brooklynn gasped hand flying to her heart as though she had been mortally wounded. "Are you for reals? Mom, come on, you knew what a teacher's salary was from first hand experience. How could you go and marry Nika knowing you'd be living in squaller and poverty for the rest of your life? I mean, how could you do that to me!"

"Not much of a glow up now, am I?" Nika chuckled, a sense of relief washing over the women as after her little display Brooklynn began pulling apart her cinnamon roll, slowly eating it one coil at a time.

Taking notice of how her parents were looking at her from time to time as the trio chatted Brooklynn couldn't help but feel guilty for the stress she had put them under. The teenager wasn't exactly sure when she stopped looking at food as food, and when it became a malevolent force pressing down on her with a crushing weight of catastrophic fear and dread, but somewhere along the line it had, and when it did everything around her shifted somehow, including the way she perceived herself. 

The first time she was hospitalized Brooklynn had only been thirteen years old. It had been her last year of middle school and she had put all her energy into that year. Her academic success, and reputation as one of the popular girls only added to the immense pressure, and need for perfection that she had put on herself. This left her with a constant feeling of inadequacy and self doubt that manifested itself in her relationship with food.

At first she started her channel at the suggestion of one of the eating disorder rehab counselors as a means of tracking her progress towards a healthy weight, and to inspire and give hope to others. It worked, for a while, but then the comments started flowing in, images of girls and even some boys looking to achieve lower and lower weights, challenging each other, making it a competition. Brooklynn looked at their thin, withered forms and enviously saw only beauty. After a drastic relapse she'd not only had the GI tube surgically placed, but has lost all internet access, living in her mind, as dismally Amish.

After she had been discharged Brooklynn begged, and was finally allowed social media again, but only on the condition that her login information was forefit. Under close supervision her videos had a moderate following, one that she tried to maintain a candid look into her ongoing struggles with, but nothing noteworthy by internet standards. That was until the following summer when Brooklynn's dad decided to take her on a photoshoot in Maraco and she started filming the adventure. Her channel started picking up, and so did her self esteem. She deleted all of her old videos, and rebranded herself, from that point on everything changed.

"I was thinking, on the way home from the salon we could pick up a few things from the store," Brooklynn said sneaking a piece of cinnamon roll to Skittles who was begging beneath her chair. "Because I wanted to do some easy hacks while I'm here. I'll pay!" she added quickly hoping that the answer would be yes.

All of her traveling and most of her product reviews happened when Brooklynn was with her dad who had a much more sizable bank account. When she was with her moms the young influencer's veiwership always took a noticable dip, but nothing that the channel couldn't recover from. As a result she did mostly hacks and debunking vids to keep things fresh and momentum high.

"If you destroy my kitchen again, I swear!" Candice said firmly, an accusatory finger pointing at her daughter.

"Your kitchen?" Nika asked brow sharply arched, earning a cheeky grin from Brooklynn as she watched the exchange.

"Our kitchen." Candice corrected.

"Our?" Nika murmured over her coffee, voice barely audible as she locked eyes mischievously with her wife.

Candice sighed resigning herself to losing this one. "If you destroy Nika's kitchen, I swear you're grounded for the rest of the month!"

"Love you!" Nika beamed.

"Love you too!" Candice replied in a playfully sarcastic tone. "We'll see. Why don't you go get dressed, I want to get this dog and pony show over before it gets too much later."

"Hey!" Brooklynn scoffed quickly downing the last of her now tepid coffee. "This isn't a 'dog and pony show!' This is high quality original content and entertainment!"

Dashing to her room the teenager shuffled through her drawers locating her favorite, most supportive bra, even if the underwire did bite from time to time, a frilly but not overly obnoxious hanging-around-the-mall type blouse, and a pair of skinny jeans. Changing in a rush Brooklynn was careful to keep her back to the mirror in spite of its recent reinstallation to her room before bounding back out only to find Nika spreading out folders on the couch.

"You're not coming with?" Brooklynn asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Nah, sorry Wookie, not this time. I've got a lot of grading to do. Besides I really like my current aesthetic." Nika smiled up at her from where she sat. "When it's mani-pedi day, I'll be first in line though."

"I'm sure you will be." Candice said giving her wife a peck on the forehead before heading out the front door.

"You know we could always put off those randos on the internet until tomorrow and you can hang out with me, and your mom, put on some music jam this out together then have a movie marathon the rest of the day?" Nika offered. "Come on you're really gonna just abandon me? What happened to my number one collator?"

"She learned about child labor laws!" Brooklynn snarked, sticking her tongue out as she headed for the door, scooting Skittles back with her foot as she did.

"Fine just leave me here, by myself, all alone!" Nika called her volume raising as the two made their way out of the apartment and down the hall earning laughter from both of them.

Brooklynn and her mom walked at a comfortable pace, talking casually about school, boys, and new tv shows, over the loud, dull roar of traffic. Candice who had initially been apposed to the idea of online schooling for her daughter was now very keen on the subject and deeply impressed with what the highly motivated young woman had been able to accomplish working at her own pace, which for Brooklynn meant working far ahead of her peers. It wasn't long however before they reached the salon, they each got checked in, and sat in a chair.

"Hey Brooklanders, it's me again, as promised, and here we are at 'Kinky's,' a salon near my moms' apartment. They work with all hair types as the name implies, even though I know what you were really thinking, for shame my Brooklanders!" the girl joked with knit eyebrows waggling her finger at the camera. "I don't think they've been having much luck these days though, what with bigger more commercial spots opening up around town taking business away from them, so let's see if we can't get them trending huh?"

When a woman approached Brooklynn to beging work on her hair the teen turned the camera towards her saying. "This is..."

"Steph..." Steph said with a perplexed expression.

"This is Steph, she's going to be our guide to fabulous world cotton candy, bubble gum, and of course flamingos today. Smile, you're going live to my 27 million followers!"

"Oh, my God!" the woman gasped covering her mouth and walking away.

"Oops!" Brooklynn shrugged, waiting a few moments before a tall gentleman approached her chair. "Hi!" the girl smiled.

"Hi," he replied before leaning down and waving at the phone. "Hey all, hope you're ready to see a little magic," he said with catching enthusiasm. "But I can assure you, unlike what you might see in Vegas, this is not an illusion, it is one hundred percent, real and one hundred percent Jeremy!" he added with a wink.

Brooklynn and Jeremy fed off one another giving great banter and creating one of, in Brooklynn's opinions best livestreams date, being sure to grab stills of the teen at various stages of what Jeremy referred to as "the process" along the way. Still giddy from the encounter the girl burst through the living room door with a "ta-da!"

"Oh, wow!" Nika gushed getting up and coming to play with her daughter's hair. "It's still so soft!"

"Isn't it?" Candice asked running her fingers through it as well. "And smell it I love the shampoo they used. Now I wish I'd gotten a wash. You like the bob?"

"Looks great on you hon!"

"Guys, guys this isn't a petting zoo!" Brooklynn said squirming away. "Jesus! I'm gonna get my charger, brb!"

Walking to the outlet her charger was plugged into Brooklynn was briefly startled by her own reflection. Oh yeah, she thought pausing to examine herself in the mirror, this was going to take some getting used to. Brooklynn hesitated to look away, her attention captured by what she saw as a strand of hair fell to cover one eye. Sweeping it back and tucking it behind an ear the girl was struck with a strangely euphoric feeling, one she hadn't felt in a long while. Wow, she thought smiling to herself, I'm actually kind of pretty. It was a nice feeling, one Brooklynn hoped would last as she shifted her hair around in her head, positioning in various styles.

It was then that her phone chimmed. Looking down the girl noticed an email, one she had almost dismissed as junkmail advertising discounted vacation rates, until she noticed that there weren't really any images in the letter, not like an ad would have anyways. She reread the address of the sender, "PR Department?" Brooklynn muttered sinking distractedly into the chair at her desk as she started to read the email.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really struggled to write this one. If I'm being honest Brooklynn is my least favorite character as she is in the show. She just seems so self absorbed and narcissistic, and that is exactly how she was ending up in the first couple of drafts none of which were longer than 1,000 words. Then I started thinking about why she would be that way, bullying when she was younger? Difficulty over her parents divorce? None of that seemed to really work for her. Then I thought well what if her problems stemmed not from external forces, but internal ones. And that friends is how I gave a fictional teenage girl a severe eating disorder.
> 
> I'm sorry internet. DX


	4. Darius

-Three Weeks BCC-

Breath catching in his chest, and heart pounding Darius looked around himself with confusion and malaise. The merger halo of illumination his flashlight provided washing over the nondiscript walls of the hallway as he pivoted back and forth. Something glittered in the darkness to his left. Giving his light source a shake the boy watched and waited to see if he could repeat the phenomenon, to his tentative relief he could.

"Well," he muttered to himself. "Here goes nothing."

Creeping slowly down the corridor his nerves on edge the teen found himself looking back over his shoulder more often than not. What was that noise? He wondered uneasily. It seemed to be following him, a low shuffling in the darkness, and yet, despite his efforts, the teenager was unable to locate the source of the sound. Tiptoing his way towards the object Darius reached slowly for what he could now tell was some sort of orb. Suddenly the reflective circle was eclipsed by something only to repeater brighter and in someway more sinister.

"Oh, no." the teen muttered to himself as it moved. Raising his flashlight Darius revealed the hideous maw of a Velociraptor lunging for him, the orb had been the reflection of its eye.

All at once he was being pulled back down the way he'd come. "Run!" Dr. Meriwether shouted in his ear. Darius could practically feel the breath of the creature hot and wet on the back of his neck. His legs tensing as if the need to flee was real, Darius thrust the joystick forward.

"Come on, come on!" he muttered teeth grit together. Light! With relief the boy spotted the way out, turning towards it hurriedly pressing the 'regroup' button to call Dr. Meriwether to follow him. Closer and closer they got, the sunlight blinding after so much darkness when- the whole world tilted as the headset was pulled from his face. His eyes squinting the teen glared up at his big brother protesting loudly as he paused the game.

"Darius, come on man I've been calling you for twenty minutes!" Brand said with annoyance as he tossed the expensive enquipment to the desk.

"Careful!" Darius gasped quickly accessing the headset to ensure that nothing had been damaged. Blinking as his eyes adjusted to the real world the boy found himself smirking at the sight of his bother looking like a dork. "Why are you wearing your uniform, Brand _on _?" he laughed reaching up and flipping his bro's name tag.__

__"Because genius, I got called in." he retorted before motioning with a thumb towards the door. "Dinner."_ _

__"It's a school night." Darius said perplexed as he took a moment to save and exit the game._ _

__"And?" Brand yawned._ _

__"I don't know I thought you weren't allowed to work on school nights, at least not this late." he shrugged trying to appear disinterested._ _

__"It's fine." his brother assured, though Darius took this statement with a fair amount of skepticism. He'd overhead Brand and their mom whispering late at night after they thought he'd gone to bed about bills. Brand had offered to pick up more hours, but had been told that his education was more important. Clearly he didn't agree._ _

__Darius chose to keep these thoughts to himself as he walked towards the dining room table, hands in his pockets. Sniffing the air, he recognized the meal as lasagna, but... not. Peering into the steaming bowl that awaited him Darius gawked at the small flat noodles in something that was supposed to marinara, some sort of white "cheese" sauce drizzled on top. The boy's heart sank into the pit of his suddenly nauseated stomach._ _

__"Hamburger Helper again?" he groaned sliding into a chair and moving the food around with his fork._ _

__"You know what?" Brand said taking a bite directly from the pan. "You make dinner sometime since your such a gourmet." Distractedly shoveling food into his mouth, Brand glanced at his phone. "Shit I'm gonna be late!" he swore while clearly burning his tongue on that last bite._ _

__Running to the fridge he grabbed an energy drink before turning to Darius. "Do me a favor, save mom some of that, and do the dishes, there's not a lot. Don't go anywhere or open the door for strangers, if someone offers you drugs just say 'no,' to all my Brandamaniacs say your prayers and take your vitamins, don't do anything I wouldn't do, it's not you it's me," the older boy rattled with a cheeky grin as he headed towards the front door, spewing his ever growing list of farewell slogans as he went. "When the going gets tough the tough get going, good night and good luck!"_ _

__"Just get out of here already!" Darius laughed balling up a paper towel and throwing it at him._ _

__"Hey, for reals, I love you man." Brand said pausing as he closed the door behind him. "See you in the morning."_ _

__"Love you too."_ _

__Shaking his head as he heard the deadbolt slide into place Darius picked at his dinner. After a few solitary minutes with only the dull tik-tok-tik-tok of the kitchen clock for company the boy grew restless and his thoughts turned, as they usually did, back to the game. The raptors had laid a trap for them, he thought, tapping the fork against his chin. Were they really that smart? he pondered. Everything he had read indicated that they likely were, but then again you had to consider how many liberties the game designers might have taken to make it more challenging for players._ _

__What had he missed though? The teen thought irritably to himself as he ate his less than desirable meal. It had to have been hinted at earlier in the level which he hoped he wouldn't have to start over, though he knew he likely would. After all he hadn't located the canister of specimen samples which had been the main objective, other than survival of course. Perhaps, he thought suddenly the level was specifically meant to end in failure, as part of the storyline? Nah, Darius concluded to himself dismissing the idea completely, he must have missed something._ _

__Glancing up at the clock on microwave teen realized that his mom wouldn't be home for another two hours at least. That was plenty of time, he thought. Eagerly wolfing down the pasta Darius dropped his bowl into the sink making a mental note to come back for them after he had solved the mystery that was the InGen on-site genetics facility._ _

__After several more strenuous attempts Darius and his sole companion on the island were racing across an open field, Dr. Meriwether calling for extraction, raptors hot in their trail. A chill ran down Darius' spine at the blood curdling scream that filled his ears without warning. He turned this way and that looking for the adversary only to begin to make out words. A dinosaur that talks? Oh! Maybe another survivor! But then as he listened more carefully the teenager's stomach did a summersault, he knew that voice._ _

__"Mom?" he called with worry exiting the world of virtual reality and running to the bedroom door. Opening it he found himself suddenly enveloped with a cloud of putrid black smoke. Fanning it away from his face, coughing and choking on the plume, lungs burning, Darius felt a rush of real mortal terror. "Mom!"_ _

__Socks skidding on the floor as he ran Darius slipped, clipping his shoulder painfully into the wall before scrambling back up and darting into the kitchen. Through the haze he could make out the figure of his mom thrusting a frying pan into a sink of running water where it hissed and bubbled vengefully, black smoke billowing into white steam. Hacking against the miasma herself the woman moved to open the back door, Darius eager to help rushed away and began opening windows._ _

__"Darius Alexander Bowman!" the woman yelled as she spotted him. Still coughing Monica seemed to think better of the situation, marched over to the boy and nabbed him savagely by the ear dragging him out into the fresh night air to let him have with full lung capacity available._ _

__"Ow, ow, ow!"_ _

__"Don't you dare ow me!" she said angrily. "What the hell do you think you were doing?"_ _

__"I'm sorry it was an accident, I just got too busy playing Jurassic Wo-" Darius began smiling weakly even though he knew there'd be no talking himself out of this one._ _

__"Enough with that God damn game!" she shrieked fanning the front of her scrub top as if overheated, by the smoke or pure anger the boy couldn't tell. "I'm going to throw that stupid thing away."_ _

__"It was an accident!" Darius shouted with frustration, eyes watering as he rapidly blinked away the fumes._ _

__"Don't." his mother warned. "Don't you raise your voice to me, not after I come home to that!" she pointed with a trembling hand towards the house, her voice just as shaken. "If I had- if I had come home any later..."_ _

__"Nothing would have happened! Jeez I don't get why you're over reacting." he scoffed in spite of how his own heart still raced. He regretted his combative response almost immediately as his mother turned away and stalked back into the house. "Where are you going? Mom?" he asked following her as she charged furiously into his room._ _

__"What are you doing?" he then howled in shock, rushing to stop her as she began yanking cords out of the back of his PC._ _

__"Don't touch me." she gritted as the boy grabbed at her hands. "Don't," she said again trying, unsuccessfully, to fend off tears. "I am not ready to bury you next to your father, not over a stupid videogame!" she sobbed. The woman's words lanced her son through the heart, he stood looking at her in a stunned silence. "Take a shower, don't take a shower I don't care anymore, just go to bed." she went on waving him away as she left._ _

__"Mom..." Darius said meekly, his own eyes welling as he watched her leave._ _

__Falling onto his bed as a few rogue tears escaped him Darius couldn't help but feel that a great injustice had been done against him. So he forgot one little pan of food on the stove, and it got a little burnt. It wasn't like the house was going to catch on fire. He wasn't stupid either, he would have gotten out even if it had. Sure he might be obsessed with the game, more than he probably should have been, but he got his homework done and helped around the house. Besides, it was the only chance he had of ever making to to Jurassic World now that his dad was gone... and that was another thing, he thought with indignation, she didn't have to bring dad into it. Failing to understand why his mom had to blow things out of proportion the way she had, the gamer brooded solemnly._ _

__He was glowering at the wall still resentful, when Darius heard the first heartbroken sobs coming from the other end of the hall. A sudden pang of guilt washing away the anger the boy got up and crept back towards the epicenter of all of the night's drama, nose wrinkled against the still pungent air. With a thick foam of bubbles stretching up to her elbows his mother braced herself with both hands against the sink, tears raining down on the dirty dishes. Darius watched her for a moment, hating himself for making her cry._ _

__Walking up behind her the teen wrapped his mom in a hug, resting a cheek against her back. Listening to her heartbeat, and mournful weeping in tandem Darius felt hollow with shame. The pair stood alone in their grief and fear the rest of the world falling away for what seemed like an eternity, a turbulent ocean of sorrow threaten to drown them. After several minutes the woman took a deep breath to compose herself, and without warning the crying stopped abruptly under her sheer force of will._ _

__"It's alright, I'm alright." she said patting him on the forearm and pulling out of the embrace. "It's late, and I need you in bed."_ _

__"I'm sorry."_ _

__"It's alright, just get some sleep ok?" the nurse smiled softly. "I love you."_ _

__"Love you." the boy muttered, gaze downcast. Finding his way back to bed Darius lay playing through the events of the day in his mind, and how he could have, should have done better. Eventually, he fell asleep._ _

__Leg sticking out from under the blankets, blissfully cool while the rest of his form was snuggly bundled only the discomfort of a full bladder roused Darius from the realm of nix and into the warm glow of morning. Sitting up he rubbed an eye with a groan before turning to his alarm clock to assess the time. The blank face of the device didn't click with his brain at first glance but the surge of adrenaline that flooded through his body when it did sent the boy flying from his bed. He was going to be late for school!_ _

__Quickly running to the bathroom he took a much needed leak before frantically pelting back to his room and searched along his nightstand and under the edge of his bed for his phone, discovering the unplugged power cord of his clock in the process. Groaning with frustration when he came up empty handed the teen got dressed, hurriedly throwing on something he hoped was clean before shouldered his backpack. Swearing under his breath he wondered with accusation, why no one had checked to see if he was up before they'd left for the day?_ _

__It was a he hopped on one foot, struggling to put his shoes on that Darius realized the tv had been left on in the living room. He raced to turn it off before leaving._ _

__"Excuse me?"_ _

__"Ahh!" Darius screamed turning with wide eyes to see his mom, still in her pajamas lounging on the sectional. "Mom?" he panted. "Uh school, late for... what's going on?" he trailed off, his eyebrows coming together as he took in the room, making note of the baskets of clothes and the trio of cell phones his mother had surrounding her. "No, seriously, what's going on?"_ _

__"Well, for one thing you just turned off my favorite soap, and for another it's about time your lazy bones rolled out of bed. It's..." she paused fishing her phone up from the floor and glancing at its screen. "10:37. Do you know how bored I've been? I actually folded the laundry! When does your mother ever fold the laundry? I mean come on that's a job for you little peons."_ _

__Blinking as he failed to understand a single word his mom had said Darius found himself staring._ _

__"Surprise!" she said with a laugh. "I switched schedules so we could hang out, and I called you out sick from school so you better work on a cough or something. I'm sorry about last night." she went on with a sigh, sitting up and patting the space next to her. "But at least now we know that the fire alarm needed new batteries, and got that taken care of. So the next time you and Dr. Flora get too busy running from dinosaurs the whole house doesn't burn down."_ _

__Darius couldn't help but smirk as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders when he sat, "Mom, it's Dr. Meriwether."_ _

__"All I know is he's named after one of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty!" she rolled her eyes giving the boy a hug. "Now put Brandon's phone by his bed and change shirts while I get dressed, your mama wants to go to the pier!"_ _

__The teen winced, ducking his head slightly. "Can we afford a trip to the pier?"_ _

__"Darius, your mother wants funnel cake and you almost burnt the house down last night. If your butt is not in the car in the next ten minutes one of us is going to regret it." she announced. "Do you understand me?"_ _

__"Yes ma'am." the teen laughed as the stress between from the day before melted away._ _

__"Good, now go change and don't wake your brother up, I have no idea what time he got in last night." she instructed handing him Brand's phone before scooping up a basket of her clothes and heading for her room._ _

__Depositing the cell on his brother's dresser, Darius found himself feeling guilty as he noticed the guy hadn't even changed out his uniform, still smelling like french fries, before he'd crashed. He might piss him off from time to time, but he really did have a great big brother, he thought. Taking a moment to plug Brand's alarm clock back in for him, Darius reset the time before walking back to his own room and repeating the process._ _

__In the car mother and son chatted about what each other had been up to, the nurse having been so busy with double shifts lately that she felt out of touch and estranged in her son's life. Darius was sure to fill her in on all of the happenings in school, what he'd been doing in his free time, and even the scandalous truth that Brand had, had a girl over last Saturday._ _

__The pier itself was loud and full of life energizing the boy by proximity alone. Purchasing the two of them unlimited wristbands it was clear that Monica planned on making a day of it. Grabbing her hand Darius began to run leading his mom with childlike glee through the crowds, forgetting that at nearly sixteen he was supposed to act 'cool' in public. Riding rollercoasters, playing likely rigged arcade games, and downing corn dogs the two quickly lost track of time._ _

__It was on the teacups though, that Darius got his revenge. They were already spinning so fast that his mom had taken her hands off the wheel, her eyes plastered shut and teary, laughing so hard she couldn't catch her breath. Waving desperately to tell him to stop Darius grinned mischievously, throwing his full weight behind turning the wheel, spinning them faster and faster, until he himself couldn't take the momentum and let go, being pressed back in his seat by the centrifugal force. The world spun and tilted as the two stumbled away from the ride, both of their faces aglow with laughter they were having difficulty recovering from it._ _

__"Alright, Darius," the woman said finding something to lean against. "Just for that, I'm keeping the headset 'til tomorrow!"_ _

__"Worth it!" the boy laughed jovially._ _

__After one more pitstop to satiate his mother's craving the two went home, plopping down, and flipping on the tv to watch a movie. Almost immediately however, the woman fell fast asleep exhausted by all the excitement and activity of the day. Smiling fondly Darius pulled the throw off the back of the couch and draped it over her, before making himself comfortable with his head on her shoulder. Startling him at first Brand, bundled like a wayfaring traveler shuffled into the living room, blankets dragging on the floor. Without a word he flopped himself down on the other side of the sectional and went back to sleep. The family happily relishing the nearness of the others. Darius smiled._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things! #1 While I'm talking about Velociraptors, though in the context of the videogame, I'd like to say that the fact the "the raptor pack" being the only Velociraptors in Jurassic World has always really bothered me and struck me as dumb. Velociraptors are probably the most infamous creations of InGen, (the escaped T-Rex from Lost World aside) especially after the first hand accounts of Ian Malcolm and anyone else who broke the non-disclosure agreement. 
> 
> I can't imagine that Jurassic World would pass on such a lucrative attraction. So in my variation of this world there is a raptor exhibit at the park where the animals are showcased as their vicious selves and look more akin to the animals in the Jurassic Park movies (can't decide on if I like the design from #1 or #3 best though). The raptor pack was engineered specifically for training purposes which is why they have unique patterning so as to more easily distinguish them from one another.
> 
> Sorry, I know this won't play a part in the story for a bit but I wanted to share while I was thinking about it.
> 
> And #2 If any of you come across this "_______" while you're reading I leave blank spaces for myself when I can't think of a word I like and come back to it later. Sometimes when I proof read before posting I can still miss these fill-in-the-blanks spaces I leave myself. If you notice them would you mind giving me a heads up so I can fix it? 
> 
> Thank you, and thanks for reading! :)


	5. Yasmina

-Two and a Half Weeks BCC-

Alarm blaring in her ears Yasmina rolled over with a whine smacking at all of the buttons on top of the hellish device she so loathed until with a sense of victory she silenced it. Smiling to herself the teenager turned back towards the wall dragging her previously discarded pillow to her chest and wrapped her arms about it with snug sense of security. Blissfully she began to feel her tired, overworked muscles beginning to relax again as she gave herself five extra minutes. It was when she felt herself teetering dangerously upon the precipice between awareness and the sleep that she finally got up.

Still foggy headed she made her way to the bathroom, and sat down to relieve herself only to feel a rush of momentary panic at the unexpected sight of blood. "Ugh!" she groaned when the shock wore off a half second later. It came early! That was great, just freaking great! Leaning over she riffled through the cabinet beneath the sink fishing out the much needed supplies and the extra pair of underwear Yasmina had learned to keep handy. Finishing up she brushed her teeth with a quick haphazard fury, spitting, rinsing, and throwing the door open with a scowl.

Storming back into her room she ripped apart her bed with frustration, balling up her sheets and blankets carrying them down the hall and stuffing them into the washing machine. A little soap, a little fabric softener, and the teen slammed the lid shut and started it up. 

"Rough morning?" her dad smiled as he walked past, unaware of the dangerous waters in which he tred.

Ignoring him Yasmina got dressed running a comb through her long, easily tangled hair, trying to compose herself, and breathe reigning in her emotions even as she swept her dark locks up into a bun. She sighed heavily staring down at the noose of a hijab on her dresser, picking it up reluctantly and sliding on first the under-cap and then the long tube like covering that fit snuggly under her chin, covering hair and neck alike. She felt strangled by the oppressive cloth, the tight spandex that framed her visage making her cheeks feel somehow puffy and swollen.

It's just for a minute, she told herself heading for the kitchen.

There she found that the activity in her house was already buzzing as her father, dressed smartly in his suit rushed about looking for his car keys. Her mom was busy frying up an egg sandwich, and Sameera, who much like her big sister had a bad habit of sleeping in until the last possible minute was brushing her teeth drowsily at the table trying hard not to get her juice cup confused with her spit cup.

"Need some coffee kiddo?" Yasmina asked roughing up the girl's hair as she walked past, determined not to let mother nature's cruel little joke ruin her day.

"No," their mother, Lailah, said over her shoulder. "What she needs is to start waking up the first time I go into her room. You-" her mom said flicking her hands away as if she were shooting away a fly. "There's no more I can do for you, if you're late, you're late. Then if the police want to arrest me for having a truant child, so be it, at least I won't be the one doing all the cooking and laundry anymore." 

Yasmina couldn't help but smile, rolling her eyes at her mother's predictable but irritated response. Opening the cupboard the teen fished out her protein powder, side stepping her mom and grabbed her blender bottle as well. "We're going to need milk." Yasmina announced to anyone that might be listening as she used the remainder of the gallon to make her breakfast.

"Fridge." her mom sighed, clearly put out.

"Huh?" the teen asked with confusion as she shook the bottle vigorously, the metal ball inside rattling loudly.

"Write it on the fridge!" the woman snapped pointing to the legal pad she had hung up a few weeks ago. Yasmina who kept forgetting that her mother was trying to come up with a new routine so she didn't have to run to the grocery store four and five times a week quickly scribbled down her addition, waving a distracted bye over her shoulder when her dad called to them from the front door.

"Well, I'm off too." Yasmina announced, swinging her backpack onto her shoulder, kissing first Sameera, than her mom on the cheek and darting outside.

Hitting the pavement the girl checked her watch, she would be cutting it especially close today, but if she sprinted the last block or so she'd be fine. The first order of business however, was to make it past the gossipy Mrs Houda's house. Walking at a quick pace the girl was putting in her earbuds to block out the brash noise of the world when a half empty fast food cup bounced sharply off her back causing her to jump in pain and surprise, sticky soda soaking into the leg of her pants.

"Go back to where you came from!" the asshole called out to her from the passenger window.

"Fuck you!" the American born Yasmina yelled back flipping him not one, but two birds.

Blinking back tears as she assessed the damage to her jeans the teen took a trembling breath. It wasn't glass this time, she thought still trying her best to remain optimistic, and it wasn't beer. Banishing the thought of turning around and going back home to catch a ride with her mom Yasmina took another deep breath. She shoved her ear buds in, tucking them beneath the binding fabric which brought her only scorn and hatred, and set her favorite playlist to shuffle. Head bobbing to the beat as she got into the rhythm the teen took a swig of her liquid breakfast and began jogging away at a steady pace. She just had to make it around the corner, she thought bitterly, and everything would be alright.

Heart pumping, and lungs drinking up the morning air the girl savored the rush of endorphins and feel of her body working at peak form. There was nothing else like it in the world the athlete thought dodging and weaving around fellow pedestrians as she took another victorious gulp of shake. Or almost nothing.

The girl grinned broadly as she rounded the city block and out of view of the prying eyes that knew her mother. The loud calamity of cars speeding past, horns honking, people yelling or talking on their cellphones came flooding back with full force when Yasmina ripped off the hijab pulling the miniature speakers out of her ears in the process. Smiling with a freedom fueled elation Yasmina stuffed the garment into her bag and let her hair out of its bun, allowing it to cascade in a flowing ponytail. Stepping to the side the girl plugged herself back in, listening to the music and letting each song's tempo set her pace until she reached school.

"Terrorist," it wasn't the most original line, and even though she knew it was there it still stung enough to pull the girl out of her runner's high when she saw it written on her locker. She'd given up trying to wash it away as each time it began to fade it would magically return to life like a hateful phoenix rising from the ashes. Yasmina had even brought it up to the principal, and asked for it to be removed several times, but as of yet nothing official had been done about it. So the girl resolved to ignore the issue which appeared to be the only solution as demonstrated by the facility that had a rather fluid "zero tolerance" policy when it came to bullying.

Quickly grabbing her books she headed to her first class. The school year was nearly over and yet Ms Greene still felt the need to force her students to sit through another boring lecture. History class was honestly a crime against humanity and really ought to have been an elective, Yasmina thought clicking her pen repeatedly as boredom and early morning drowsies loomed. After narrowly surviving the monotony of it all, was trigonometry, and lit both of which she had testing for making the day drag on grinding away at her mood like a millstone. 

Finally when the last of her nerves had been stretched to their limit the bell dismissed it's captives to lunch. Hitting the cafeteria with gusto, pizza, frys, soda, cottage cheese, and several preportioned packets of salt found their way onto her tray. Delving into cheesey, salty, fatty goodness of the meal Yasmina closed her eyes savoring how it hit that particular spot that always seemed to hollow out during her menstrual cycle, a hole that only junk food could fill up. 

Looking across the room the teen who ate in isolation found herself looking at former friends as they talked and joked amongst each other. Yasmina's heart sank when Aubry meeting her gaze gave a short wave before whispering to the others causing the table to erupt with laughter. No matter how hard she tried it always seemed like people were going to hate her simply for existing. Turning away as she finished her meal the girl played absentmindedly on her phone, most of her attention given instead to plotting out the remainder of the day, organizing things just well enough that she could get in some quality training in before heading home.

Emptying her tray into the garbage Yasmina had a few extra minutes before her next class, more than enough time to swap out textbooks and grab something sweet from the vending machine. She was doing just that when the sound of her last name caught her attention, jarring her by surprise.

"Good, Miss Fadoula, I was hoping I would catch you!" Mr Blavin said trotting up to her from across the hall.

The tall man smiled in a bright charming manner that seemed to come naturally to him. Depending on who you asked he was either famous for his affable, understanding nature that made him a sought after advisor for many students, or infamous for the vicious rumors spread about him, and his signature rainbow enamel pin that he had to fight first the school board, and then the PTA to wear. Secretly the art teacher was one of Yasmina's favorite people on earth, educator or otherwise.

"What's up?" she asked turning towards him, his joy infectious.

"I just wanted to talk to you about the sunset you painted in class the other day. I found it to be a very moving, very introspective piece," he started out, talking with his hands as he usually did. "I was especially touched by the varying gradients of orange cut by a bank of clouds shifting into hues of pink..."

Oh shit! Yasmina thought heart racing, he knew! Of course he would have picked up on it! She thought bitterly, condemning herself for being so stupid. The girl had seen "hidden pride" paintings made by people online who weren't able to come out yet, and she'd dared to make one for herself. She was an idiot, Yasmina thought dismally wishing that the ground would split open and swallow her up right then and there.

"I just wanted to ask your permission before I selected it to display out in the halls. It felt like it had a very, personal meaning to the artist, one I wouldn't want to flaunt leaving them feeling uncomfortable and exposed." he smiled, giving her a nudge with his elbow. "You don't have to decide now, you can take it home, or if you want me to hang it, with _pride _, you'll have it back by the end of the fall semester."__

__Relief, washed over Yasmina who was able to return the man's smile, he was giving her a choice. "I'll think about it." she nodded._ _

__"Cool. Huh, would you look at that," he said as if suddenly distracted, tapping her locker with a knuckle. "Someone must be failing Mrs. Lowe's english class, because that's not how you spell it." Riffling through what sounded like a half dozen pens in his pocket the man produced a classic black sharpie and in large curling letters wrote the word "terrific" before surrounding the offensive slur with a heart and coloring it in so that it could no longer be seen._ _

__"Isn't that vandalism?" Yasmina laughed though she felt like her own heart might burst._ _

__"Ah, an astute question! But, we must first ask ourselves what is art? And in this scenario where in lies the difference between 'vandalism' and so called 'street art.' To a novice one might say 'getting caught,' and yet who decrees what is a tagging and what is a mural? Perhaps we'll close the year out discussing this topic, I mean everyone loves a good Banksy." he winked, hands resting to his pockets as he backed down the hall. "And no, it's not, it's a declaration of admiration and mutual respect for one of my favorite students. Just don't go spreading it around, I'm not supposed to have favorites, k?"_ _

__"K!" Yasmina laughed._ _

__It wasn't until she was walking into her next class that the initial sense of unease washed over Yasmina. He knew, she couldn't help thinking to herself. Someone actually knew. It made her feel vulnerable and almost naked in a sense. After years of being both architect and construction worker, building up her defenses against the bigots, and prejudice individuals she constantly found herself surrounded by, someone had found a chink in her armor. It was terrifying. And yet, by the end of the day as she stood on the track staring the finish line down with fierce determination, it was also somehow strangely liberating._ _

__Getting into starting position Yasmina slowed her breathing, trying to find her inner place of peace, and calm. Running gave her clarity, and made her feel invincible, but to get where she needed to be, she had to clear her mind. Only, the corner of her mouth curled slightly, someone knew. Taking off like a shot the girl tore down the rubber lane the lightness in her chest lending speed to her feet, making her feel as though she could fly. I'm gay, she thought, a lesbian, and that's ok. Blinking past the welling tears, she couldn't help but smile, it's ok, I'm going to be ok!_ _

__"Time!" the coach called, breaking her train of thought. Hands on her hips, sides heaving Yasmina walked towards him, waving away any questions he was beginning to form as she wiped away the lingering moisture from her eyes. "That's a new personal best, wanna go again?"_ _

__"Sure." Yasmina nodded, pumping a fist at her victory against herself, before heading back to starting position. From here on out, there was nothing that could stop her, she grinned._ _

__Tired and sore, yet still on cloud nine Yasmina's keys jingled noisily in the lock when she returned home for the evening. Getting ready to throw her hip into the door which sometimes stuck she was caught off guard when the knob suddenly pulled from her hand, opening to reveal and equally frightened looked Sameera. Pushing her way outside Sameera grabbed her older sister by the wrist pulling her after her._ _

__"What's going on?" Yasmina asked looking back._ _

__"Baba is going to kill you!" Sameera said in a hushed, urgent tone._ _

__"What?" Yasmina scoffed. "Why is baba going to kill me?"_ _

__"Because he saw this!" Sameera explained holding up the cracked hand-me-down iphone she'd been given._ _

__"Olympic Hopeful Yasmina Fadoula Finds Sponsor With Jurassic World!" the headline read, beneath was a candid photograph of the girl running, in shorts and a tank top, hair flowing. Yasmina squeezed her eyes shut as though she could wish it all away._ _

__"What were you thinking? You're half naked!" Sameera said with a pained look._ _

__"I wasn't half naked! There's nothing wrong with what I was wearing, and I was thinking about who I am and what I want out of life. And believe it or not I was also thinking about you too." Yasmina said firmly to the twelve year old. "And about how I want you to have the chance to make your own choices, choices that I'm going to have to fight for. Now it's my turn to warn you, so, get ready for World War Three kiddo," the teen said pulling off the head covering she had worn home. "Because things are going to get ugly."_ _

__Marching through the house and into the kitchen where the warm, homey aromas of lamb bamia originated she found her parents seated, and talking amongst themselves at the table. She had known this day was coming for a while, but she had wanted it to happen on her own terms. Oh well, she thought, taking in a steady breath. "Mama, baba." she nodded to her conservative parents watching as the shock in their eyes gave way to fiery anger._ _

__"What is this?" her father shouted, motioning towards his daughter._ _

__"What is what baba?" she asked setting her backpack on an empty chair._ _

__"This! What the hell do you think you're doing?" he bellowed motioning between the girl and his cellphone. "Now the whole world can see your shame!"_ _

__"My shame? My _shame _?" Yasmina yelled, slamming both hands onto the table, ignoring her mom who was trying to play peacemaker. "The world can see my hair, and my arms, and my knees, everyone has them, they aren't special, and they aren't dirty!"___ _

____"You are dressed as an amoral, immodest, non-believer! Where is your humility? Where is your respect for your faith, your parents, and yourself?" the man asked._ _ _ _

____"My faith has brought me nothing but suffering baba! Everyone hates me!" the teen said voice breaking into a sob._ _ _ _

____"That's not true," he waved dismissively. "I have not had any difficulties, your brother is excelling at University! And you, you're running around like some, some slu-"_ _ _ _

____"Jamil!" Lailah snapped, stopping her husband from saying something he might regret._ _ _ _

____"That's because you and Ahmed didn't have to go through life walking around with big red targets on your backs!" Yasmina screamed hurling her hijab across the table at him. "Baba, you talk about respect for my parents, what about respect for your daughters, or hell even your wife? Mama has had eggs thrown at her and you only cared about the paint on the car!"_ _ _ _

____"That's not true!" her mother cut in angrily, looking with a hard gaze at her daughter. "That is not true, at all. You do not see everything. You do not know everything."_ _ _ _

____"I do care about you girls," he father said swallowing his rage. "It is because I care that I want you to dress modestly, to protect yourselves, to honor yourselves, and respect yourselves."_ _ _ _

____"Baba-"_ _ _ _

____"The discussion is over, I am your father, if you defy me I will put an end to this running nonsense here and now." he said with a wave sitting back down and turning away._ _ _ _

____Wounded Yasmina looked at him with disbelief for several minutes before she found her voice, "You just don't get it do you?" she asked before rushing away to her room. Throwing herself on the bare matress the teenager cried in wretching sobs of frustration and anger, screaming into the fabric covered springs that made up her bed._ _ _ _

____A few minutes later the was a knock at the door. Coming in her father sat on the end of her bed with a sigh. "You," he started softly. "You are my most precious flower Yasmina, and I know that the things I do, and say, the things I ask of you don't always seem right or fair when you look around and none of your friends are held to the same level of expectation. But all I want is to protect you from all the ugliness in the world. All I want is for you to be happy."_ _ _ _

____Turning Yasmina looked at him from the corner of her eye, she could tell her was trying, even if she wasn't ready to accept his efforts or apologies just yet. "You are a smart, beautiful, capable young woman who I am proud to call my daughter." he said lovingly, leaning over to take one of her hands in his own, giving it a squeeze. "And you are going to make some man very happy one day." he beamed. "I love you."_ _ _ _

____"I love you too." she muttered, trying hard not to crumble under the pressure of everything he had just said._ _ _ _

____"Now come eat something, you're mother has been cooking all day."_ _ _ _

____"I'll be right there." Yasmina said, watching him leave._ _ _ _

____Alone, head pounding, small colorful orbs darting at the edge of her vision, and stomach cramping badly the teen just wanted to curl up in the dark and never leave her bed again. He was right, she thought, it wasn't fair, none of it was fair. How could she live the rest of her life with the shadow of her parents expectations looming over her? How could she ever find happiness, find love?_ _ _ _

____Letting out a shaky breath as a few tears slipped out Yasmina carefully tried to sift through this rollercoaster of a day and figure out where exactly she had gone wrong._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)


	6. Ben

\- Four Days BCC-

Ben's eyes shot open. He was awake instantaneously, a sharp pain stabbing him in his chest, heart fluttering arrhythmically, the icy pool of anxiety that filled his stomach radiating outwards spreading it's chill to his limbs. He couldn't breathe. Pulling his trembling arms under the blankets the boy looked around his dimly lit bedroom trying in vain to set his mind at ease. It's ok, he thought curling into a tight ball, there's no one there, you're alone, it's ok. 

He felt very small and vulnerable lying in his bed the sensation that the room was growing out, expanding all around him unbearably real. Clenching his fists over his head Ben focused all of his energy on breathing, forcing the air that didn't want to move to flow in and out of his aching lungs. Smell the flowers, blow out the candles, he said silently to himself, smell the flowers, blow out the candles, smell the flowers, blow out the candles...

After a several minutes of repeating the prayer like mantra Ben felt his body begin to relax, the sudden fight or flight of the unexpected panic attack ebbing away slowly. Gradually as the tension left him and his mind began to clear the boy became acutely aware of a pain in his bottom lip making him realize that he had been biting it in his sleep, and probably had been for sometime. There was a bizarre blend of pain and numbness when he touched it, the indentions of his teeth still imbedded in the skin. Running his tongue gingerly over the inside of his mouth where it was bleeding a little Ben frowned, wondering if it would leave a mark.

As he began to fall into an eased sense of peace heart still beating against his ribcage though not as erratically now, Ben tugged the blankets over his head like a hood and closed his eyes. He was tired, he wanted sleep, needed it. Telling himself to fall back into slumber the teen willed it desperately, though without success, to happen. After struggling for what felt like hours in the paradoxical limbo of fighting so hard to fall asleep that he was inadvertently keeping himself awake instead the teen finally started to doze, drool beginning to soak into his pillow.

"Benjamin."

With a strangled half scream Ben jolted upright tears in his eyes, the sharp acidic burn of bile coating the back of his throat and stinging his nose. Searching wild eyed about his bedroom for the source of the disturbingly familiar voice, he trembled violently, taking a few wheezing gulps of air as he backed himself against the wall. Where? he thought with a sob. No! No! No! No! No!

You're alone, it's ok, you're alone, don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about! he repeated mentally, trying to fend off a hellish cacophony of reemerging memory as it clashed hauntingly against fresh nightmare. Feverishly rocking back and forth Ben hit his back against the wall, each blow to the bricks hard enough to knock the wind out of him with a short huff, head jarring forward. Don't think, don't think, don't think! He fretted urgently as the rocking found a comfortable rhythm.

With the constant repeated motion Ben's disquiet began fade, only to be replaced by an overwhelming sense of being dirty. Ben was _dirty _, everywhere. It made him feel sick to his stomach, and skin crawl. Swallowing past a lump in his throat as he edged towards his nightstand the teen pumped several squirts of hand sanitizer into his palm and began to apply it to his body in a wanton frenzy. Repeating the ritual again, and again until the unnerving feeling passed.__

__When at last Ben felt more aware of himself, nose burning with the sharp odor of the alcohol gel he looked at the time, 3:57 am. With a sigh the teenager resigned himself to sleeplessness, unwilling and unable to try again. Instead he flipped on his bedside reading lamp, and picked up one of the many books stacked haphazardly around the room with still shaking fingers. This always happened the night before, and the night after therapy, Ben thought as he thumbed through the pages, not always this bad, but it always happened. He wished his mom would stop making him go, it didn't help, it just made things worse._ _

__Locating the passage he had last read Ben settled back against the pillows. 'Daughter of Lord Greeney-' No, Ben shook his head restarting the sentence. 'Daughter of-' No! It was so infuriating, he couldn't quite get his internal voice to match that of the wildcat queen Tsarmina. 'Daughter of Lord Greeneyes. Who said that was to be kept among my list of titles?' he read finally getting it right, a contemptuous smile forming as he eagerly awaited the well deserved karma that was coming for Ashleg._ _

__Quickly engulfed into the fantastical world woven to life by Brian Jacques the teenager lost himself to the schemes and ambitions of fiendish cats, treacherous vermin, and an unlikely band of rebel heroes. Hours ticked by and the teen who ravenously devoured the written word was caught unawares until the melodic chime of his alram sounded lightly on his phone. Closing the book Ben gazed about with bleary confusion as the world of Mossflower wood melted away, leaving only the boring predictably of his room._ _

__Reaching over he unlocked his phone and shut off the clock before stretching his spindly limbs with a yawn. Having all but forgotten the bout of terror that had woken him in the first place the teenager crawled out of bed and wandered to the restroom. Sanitizing again when he returned Ben made his bed with an almost militaristic precision, before tucking the book under his arm and going to the kitchen. There he started to brew of cup of coffee for his mom, setting out the sugar, and creamer beside the machine._ _

__He took his meds and was enjoying a crisp glass of water when she walked in, slippers shuffling against the floor while she worked to sweep her hair up and into a ponytail. "Good morning." she yawned._ _

__"Morning." Ben smiled._ _

__"Did you sleep ok?" she asked pouring herself a mug of the piping beverage._ _

__"Like Rip Van Winkle!" Ben lied with what he hoped was a convincingly cheery laugh as he rummaged around the cupboard looking for a frying pan. "Want some eggs?"_ _

__"It's ok, I can do it sweetie." the woman said her tone off, as she reached to take the pan he had just produced._ _

__"I know, I was just offering." Ben nodded continuing what he was doing._ _

__Out of the corner of his eye the teenager could see his mom hesitate, as if debating whether or not to say something, but thought better of it. "Sure, I'd love some eggs."_ _

__Motioning for her to sit the boy cracked the unfertilized chicken ovums into a bowl, fluffing them nauseatingly with a fork. Firmly believing that if everyone knew exactly where their food came from that the debate between adopting a vegan lifestyle would be rendered moot he pouring the yellow slurry into the pan where it skizzled the bottom layer solidifying almost instantaneously. Sloshing the scramble around with a spatula Ben put some bread in the toaster and got out the margarine._ _

__"Ta-da!" he chimed, presenting her the plate when he had finished. His mom applauded before taking the food._ _

__Washing his hands thoroughly Ben made himself a bowl of granola bringing it to the sofa where he settled next to his mother. The pair ate in silence as they watched the news._ _

__"Looks like the economy is tanked." the woman commented, breaking the hush after a while._ _

__"When isn't it?" Ben quipped, before adding. "Its actually a very clever ploy to make this marginal drop in fiscal stability such a hot button topic, given what bills are trying to be pushed through. Congress is on fire right now, and not in the good way." he said gesturing with his spoon._ _

__"Really?" his mom mused looking down at her son, impressed. "How do you stay so we'll informed."_ _

__Ben shrugged as if the answer was obvious, "I read. Besides I've got to keep up with current events, I'll be able to vote in a couple years and I don't want to screw things up."_ _

__"You won't." the woman said smiling affectionately._ _

__After they had finished eating Ben set to work washing and drying the dishes putting them neatly away in their appointed areas while his mother got dressed. With no where to go, and nothing else to do until the afternoon they settled comfortably about the living room, Sophie with her word search and tv, and Ben with his book the two whiled away the day._ _

__Eventually when the time came they got in the car, and drove to the office of Ben's therapist. After checking in, and a brief wait, and the teen found himself uncomfortably in the chair, feeling as he ever did like he was standing before the firing squad, only they didn't have the decency to give him a blindfold._ _

__She's such a bitch, the teen thought when he noticed her taking notes as he had touched his fanny pack for reassurance, mentally checking off its contents. Only to regret thinking it immediately afterwards. You're going to hell, he thought to himself, you deserve to go to hell, you're a terrible person and everyone can see that. He criticized himself._ _

__"Ben," Dr. Warner said breaking his train of thought. "You're self-sensoring again, aren't you? I can tell because you start muttering to yourself, and keep looking over your shoulder like you've got to be ready to run from something. It's alright Ben, your thoughts are your own, like your body is your own. You are in control."_ _

__Looking away from her the teen shifted in his seat, beginning to feel distressed by where he thought this was going._ _

__"I know this is hard for you Ben, it must feel like starting over since Dr. Hanson's retirement, but you've been seeing me for a while now and I'd like to we've developed some trust between us." the woman smiled. "And I'm sure as she probably explained to you no matter what progress we are making it won't last, and you won't be able to find better, healthier ways of coping with things until we talk about, and work through the root trauma. Ben? Are you listening?" she asked leaning forward, trying to look him in the face as he turned away._ _

__"I don't want to talk anymore." the boy muttered._ _

__"Ben, it's alright, I promise. We can start slowly. You don't have to tell me anything big, just tell me something small, just tell me how it made you fee-"_ _

__"I don't want to talk!" he snapped curling his knees to his chest. "You said I should practice setting healthy boundaries, I don't feel safe and I-"_ _

__"Healthy boundaries," the woman cut in gently, tone light. "Don't mean closing yourself off from everyone and pushing away the people who are only here to help you. Ben, you are safe, this is a safe place, it's alri-"_ _

__"But I don't _feel _safe," he said, voice breaking. "And I don't want to talk about it."___ _

____"Ok, alright, fair enough." the woman said holding up her hands in surrender as the sanitizer emerged from the bag. "So, let's talk about something different," she began, trying an alternative approach. "It's the first week of summer vacation are you going to be hanging out with any of your friends?"_ _ _ _

____Ben shook his head._ _ _ _

____"What about plans, any big plans? Are you going to go see your dad?"_ _ _ _

____"I don't know."_ _ _ _

____"Well is there anything you want to do, anything you're excited for?" the doctor asked, watching as with a change of subject Ben became less defensive, and his body posture less rigid._ _ _ _

____"I'm looking forward to the summer reading program at the library." he mumbled._ _ _ _

____"Oh exciting! Do you have any new books picked out, or are you sticking to your favorites?" she asked motioning to the tome he had brought with him._ _ _ _

____"I might try something different, but I a have a few authors I really like." he admitted clutching the book._ _ _ _

____"Familiarity can be good, it can be grounding."_ _ _ _

____"Yeah." Ben nodded trying to hurry things along, hoping she'd stop talking._ _ _ _

____"So is that it? Is that all you want to do, just stay at home reading books all summer?"_ _ _ _

____"That's it."_ _ _ _

____"Don't you want to go have fun? Do something exciting with your free time? Get out of your comfort zone, shake things up?" she asked doing a shimmy in her seat. "And have some adventures?"_ _ _ _

____"I can have a hundred different adventures in a thousand different worlds from comfort and safety of my own home." Ben said looking at her with exasperation, his tone stressing the finality of the discussion. "Yes. That is exactly what I want to do with my summer."_ _ _ _

____"Alright then, sounds fun!" Dr. Warner said positively before standing. "I think that's just about time if you wanted to head out early and ask your mom to come talk to me a minute?"_ _ _ _

____Getting up Ben walked out and into the lobby, motioning with his thumb over his shoulder when his mother looked up from her seat expectantly. "Tag, you're it." he said walking to the other side of the room where he couldn't hear what they were talking about and pulled out his book, leg bouncing anxiously with residual nerves, trying hard not to think about what they were discussing._ _ _ _

____"How are you feeling?" Sophie asked as they were pulling out of the parking lot._ _ _ _

____"Fine." he replied, though truthfully he felt emotionally and physically drained._ _ _ _

____"Are you hungry, we can stop somewhere and get something to eat? I heard Burger King and Carl's Jr both have vegan burgers now!" she enthused, trying to nudge him with her elbow, but he was sitting just out of reach._ _ _ _

____Ben grimaced at the thought, "I'll eat when we get home."_ _ _ _

____There was a few minutes of silence before the woman tried again, "What about Subway? It's all fresh veggies, and you can watch them make it." The teenager thought for a minute, he hated being so difficult, especially when his mom was trying so hard, it was just, unsettling for him. Far from sold on the prospect he agreed to the compromise for his mother's sake._ _ _ _

____They were turning onto the main street by the clinic when her personal cell rang, Ben noticed the icy change in her voice when she answered it. "Here Ben, it's your dad, you forgot to turn your ringer back on."_ _ _ _

____"Hello?" Ben said putting the device to his ear._ _ _ _

____"Hey kiddo, I just wanted to call and see how things went. Are you feeling alright?" his father's voice said hopefully on the other end of the line._ _ _ _

____"I'm fine." Ben answered._ _ _ _

____"Good, good." the man said in a forced light-hearted way, causing Ben's stomach to knot. He knew his dad was trying just as hard as his mom, but he just didn't know what to say, or how to act around his son, no matter how badly the man wanted to fix things. It was why he took a job in another state. "So what have you been up to lately?"_ _ _ _

____"Just the usual, reading, and stuff. What about you?" Ben asked him, watching other cars blur past the window. The two talked idly until they turned into the sub shop's parking lot, father and son agreed to a video call later in the evening, before Sophie and Ben got out of the car._ _ _ _

____After ordering, a timid request for the employee to change gloves, and a sizable tip on his mother's part to encourage compliance the two made their way back outside to eat in what Ben felt was a cleaner more controlled environment._ _ _ _

____"You know I'm here too, if you ever want to talk." the woman said wiping her mouth with a napkin, watching her son from the corner of her eye. "And if you wake up in the middle of the night... and you're scared I'm just down the hall."_ _ _ _

____"Yeah mom," Ben said after a pause. "I know."_ _ _ _

____Clearing her throat when her work phone pinged the woman quickly evaluated the memo she received, before letting out a sigh. "I have to go get a few things from the office, you don't mind riding with do you?" Ben shook his head._ _ _ _

____Sitting right outside the large glass and concrete building labeled "Masrani Global" in bright bold lettering at the top the teenager once again became utterly absorbed into his book, so much so that the passage of time meant nothing to him until the sensation of falling caught him by surprise when the door he'd been leaning against opened without warning. Turning with fright he took in the warm expression on Mr. Masrani's face as he smiled down at him, and the red watery eyes, and runny mascara his mother bore standing just behind him._ _ _ _

____"Ben, how are you!" the man asked with a broad smile. "Did you like the gaming console I sent for Christmas last year?"_ _ _ _

____"Y-yes." Ben lied quickly dogearing his page, but he couldn't even remember if he'd actually taken it out of the box._ _ _ _

____"That is wonderful! I knew you would like it. Come, come get out of the car," he said motioning for the teen to follow. "Walk with me tell me how you've been, and what you did to make such a pretty woman cry!"_ _ _ _

____Unbuckling his seatbelt Ben exited the vehicle and shut the door, apprehensive of the unknown circumstances in which he found himself._ _ _ _

____"Your mother loves you so much Ben, do you know that?" the billionaire asked wrapping an arm around the boy, until his mother spoke up about his discomfort, much to Ben's relief._ _ _ _

____"I know." Ben said, wondering where this was leading as the entered the building and stepped into an elevator._ _ _ _

____"Then why do I come into the office and find her crying? Ben, look at her, look at your mother. Is there anything more precious in the world than a mother?" Mr. Masrani asked as Ben looked back at his mom who seemed to be trying to apologise with her gaze._ _ _ _

____"I guess not." Ben agreed bogged down by sudden guilt for what he put her through, his hand touching his fanny pack for comfort._ _ _ _

____"Why put her through this kind of stress? She says she is worried about you, wants you to make friends, to stop being afraid of everything." the man went on gesturing in the confined space of the lift. "I agree, what do you have to be afraid of? You are young you have your whole life ahead of you, seize it!"_ _ _ _

____Ben knew that Mr. Masrani was just trying to be nice and that he really liked kids. Since his mom had become one of his personal assistants the man had weeded out Ben's birthday and was sure to send him gifts for the occasion. The boy remembered a few months back when his mom was at her wits end having to rearrange Mr. Masrani's schedule and contact all of his business affiliates to postpone certain meetings. After Ben had made a snide remark Sophie had snapped at him angrily, informing him that Mr. Masrani's wife had just suffered another miscarriage, this one late term. Shamefully he'd never spoken against the man since, feeling equally guilty for not being gracious enough for the presents he'd been given._ _ _ _

____"I wanted to show you this." the man informed him as they stepped out of the elevator. Walking up to a large table at the heart of the massive office Ben looked at a model of the biggest treehouse he had ever seen. "It's called Camp Cretaceous." the man beamed with pride. "It's an adventure summer camp, where kids can be kids, make friends, have adventures, see dinosaurs up close and first hand in ways you just can't at the park itself. Like my friend John Hammond used to say, 'we spared no expense!'"_ _ _ _

____"And how did that turn out for him?" Ben commented before he could process what he was saying. "I'm sorry." he rushed out an apology, mentally condemning himself as he saw Mr. Masrani's smile falter._ _ _ _

____"It's alright," Masrani said waving away the remark. "So what do you think?"_ _ _ _

____"It... looks like fun!" Ben smiled hoping to make amends._ _ _ _

____"Good, I'm glad you think so. So what do you say to eight weeks of the most fun of your life?" the man asked._ _ _ _

____"Eight weeks?" Ben asked failing to understand what his role in the discussion was._ _ _ _

____"Yes, I'm trial running Camp Cretaceous this year before we go live next summer. I want everything to be perfect! So I expect a full report when you get back, understand? And Sophie, I want you to take a few weeks off, relax, practice some self care, paid of course. Time and a half even for all that you do for me, call it a vacation bonus." the powerful figure said as he circled the table looking at the diagram from every angle with scrutiny._ _ _ _

____Turning to his mom with a pleading look Ben pressed his palms together, begging her nonverbally not to make him go. Still teary eyed the woman pressed her lips together forming a hard line and shook her head. "It will be good for you, and we can't say no." she whispered before going to stand by her boss. "Isn't this exciting Ben?" she asked._ _ _ _

____The teenager looked at them with a nervous sense of devastation, his stomach suddenly full of rocks as he took out his sanitizer and began to coat his hands with the quick evaporating liquid._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The form of OCD Ben has in the show is called "Contamination OCD," it's a fear of being dirty or contaminated, it can be generalized or localized to a fear of specific contaminates such as food prepared by others, door knobs, even sexual activities, and is the most easily conveyed form of OCD in tv and movies because of how recognizable it is and how simply it can be portrayed visually. 
> 
> Because OCD is at its core a coping mechanism or series of coping mechanisms that alleviate stress and anxiety caused by certain triggers that have gotten out of control there is no "cure" for OCD. There are however medications and several types of therapies including behavioral and group therapies that can help manage the symptoms. 
> 
> These can include external symptoms which vary depending on the type of OCD a person is suffering from but can can be seen in various rituals (examples being hand washing, checking on people/things/memories for fear of past or present harm to others, counting, flipping on and off a light switch repeatedly due to the thought that if it's not done correctly that something bad will happen) and internal symptoms such as unchecked anxiety, intrusive thoughts, magic thinking (the concept that even thinking something bad makes it more likely to occur), self sensoring, and ruminations.
> 
> Anyways, that was a long PSA, but I wanted to explain and dispell a few things, sorry.
> 
> Thanks for reading! :D


	7. Roxie

-CC Day One-

Taking a deep breath of salty sea air Roxie watched the sun rise, painting the sky in a gentle pink just before the mighty star burst victoriously over the horizon. Shielding her eyes with her hand as the light glittering and dancing across the waves caught her with it's glare. As she took a lavish drink from her paper cup, the woman was grateful that she had decided to make the trip to the main park for the posh coffee before starting her day. Employee services and rewards certainly did come with it's perks, she thought, relishing the lightly sweetened cream that balanced in the form of a foam floating just beneath the lid.

Having woken up much earlier than usual Roxie couldn't help but feel a burst of excitement. After all of the rigid organization and waiting, the setbacks and then the accelerated timetables, the day had finally arrived. Hopping down from hood of the SUV she climbed back into the driver's seat and revved the engine to life. Driving over the established, but not quite worn in dirt road, she was already planning the day before her as she headed back to camp.

Once there the head counselor immediately set to work ensuring that everything was ship shape and in Bristol fashion. From walking the expansive treehouse, inspecting every inch for cleanliness, and making triple sure that the kitchen was well stocked with both snacks and staples, to checking the tire pressure and petrol in the Jeep, and phoning ahead to confirm the docking schedule of the boat she was hard at work battening down the hatches and making preparations for any inevitability. Polishing up the observation binoculars on the north balcony the woman felt a swell of pride as she took in her surroundings.

It didn't feel like so long ago that she was toiling away at university, halfway to her bachelor's in teaching and education when, as she had been criticized for throughout her academic career, she became restless. Shifting gears unexpectedly she, much to everyone's surprise went into Zoology with a focus on biodiversity and conservation. Graduating with high marks Roxie got a job at Whipsnade Zoo with ease. There she spent the next few years caring for a variety of animals in the massive park that stretched six hundred acres and housed over three thousand six hundred different species. It was wonderful. Every day was a fresh adventure, the animals all having their own quirks and personalities, the thrilling rush of handling a big cat, or the humbling power of a 'light' touch from an African elephant.

Eventually word got out however, of openings in the fabled zoo to end all zoos that was Jurassic World and caught in the frenzy Roxie, as with probably every other person on the face of the planet that worked in any field remotely related to animals applied for the job. To her chagrin, the woman was rejected.

Still, far from being one to give up Roxanne kept her ear to the ground and refused to be deterred, focusing in the meantime on spearheading an outreach and education program at local schools. Then, when last fall, rumor began circulating of a Jurassic World summer camp in the works she saw her opportunity. While the prospect was spurned by others Roxie who felt given her credentials and background that she was uniquely qualified for the position which was one part babysitter, one part teacher, and one part lion tamer, threw her hat into the rink as they say, and much to her surprise landed the job.

She was just sitting down to toast and jam when Dave, her counterpart in this whole crazy endeavor walked into the kitchen, just in time for the bad news. Head bobbing to a beat only he could hear as the man drummed every surface he passed, clearly attending a concert of the mind as he half hummed a song.

"Roxie-roo, what is up with you?" he beamed, twirling a mug dangerously on his index finger as with the other hand he started the coffee machine. The woman fixed him with a look from where she sat. "I mean, morning! How goes... things?" he said changing his tone. First impressions of Dave, Roxie thought looking at him with deliberation through her eyelashes, not the best. While he did work hard the man seemed to lack motivation, and had an irritating habit of thinking of everyone as his best friend, and that he could charm his way out of anything.

"Not good actually," Roxie sighed scrolling through her itinerary, making notations on various activities as she reread the email, phone in one hand tablet managed with the other. "I am at a complete loss for our entire day two schedule, the shipment never arrived, there was an issue with the shale apparently."

"Ah, it's sedimentary my dear Roxie, we shale postpone the activity until a later date granite we have the time!" the man said laughing at his own joke as he sat at the table across from her.

"Oh my God." the woman said smiling in spite of herself, it was terrible. "You're not even that punny, I do hope you realize."

"Eh, I still think I rock."

Unable to contain a fit of giggles Roxie folded her arms over the table and laid her head in them, letting the laughter spill out as the stress melted away. When at last she looked up the man was sipping his drink, smiling as though he'd just won some game she was unaware they had been playing.

"You'll figure it out I'm sure." Dave added leaning back in his chair.

After several long minutes of fretting and fawning over the schedule, and a few failed attempts to get ahold of someone at the genetics lab Roxie had no choice but to drop Dave off at the docks, just in case the boat arrived before she could get back and go handle things herself. Finding someone to talk to in person the woman was able to iron everything out at last, confidently and with relief swapping out her day three planner for day two. By then, she hoped the shipment would arrive and they could engage in a little paleontological discovery with the campers.

Speeding back to port Roxie skidded the vehicle into a stop. "So sorry I'm late! Welcome campers, I'm Roxie head counselor at Camp Cretaceous." she smiled, getting out and making her way to the assembled group of teenagers. The way they looked at her however made the woman wonder what Dave had said to them in her absence.

While the man ran through a brief overview of what to expect Roxanne got her first good look at her charges. Brooklynn she knew from her internet fame, and Roxie had to admit the pink did look better in person was busy filming. Darius and Sammy both looked eager and raring to go which was something every counselor liked to see. Yasmina stood apart from the group with a preoccupied look, arms folded across her chest. Then there was the last minute addition to the roster, far from the arrogant rich boy she had expected when Mr. Masrani contacted her about a personal favor, Ben who smelt like vomit hugged his stomach as he nervously pointed out that there were only five campers where six should have stood.

"He's right, we're missing one." Dave announced, quite the mathematician.

Then, as if preordained by fate a black helicopter descended from the heavens. "Speak of the devil." the woman muttered under her breath as the arrogant rich boy she had witlessly predicted stepped out with a flashy smile and a fair amount of bravado. Taken by surprise by a flying duffle bag, the counselor caught it, before throwing it with force back to its owner, knocking him off his feet. "Ok, let's go!"

"I don't think you're allowed to do that." Dave whispered as the pair watched Kenji Kon stand up and dust himself off.

With a shrug the woman jumped into the truck, the kids loading up in the back. "This is going to be fun." she smiled to the man as he climbed up beside her.

Glancing in the rearview mirror as they passed through the gate she gladly took in the wondering and awestruck expressions on the kids' faces. "Welcome to Camp Cretaceous!" Dave enthused, the woman chose not to tell him that the children probably couldn't hear him as well as he thought, and let him have his moment.

A sudden green blur darted across the road catching the driver by surprise. Stepping on the breaks Roxie felt the Jeep lose traction, fishtailing slightly in the loose dirt. Turning into it she compensated bringing them to a safe, albeit abrupt stop. Fetching electric prods while the teens asked with concern what was happening the counselors crept into the underbrush, in search of what they were sure was a compy, but knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

A sudden shriek from the back of the truck let Roxie know she had been duped. Retrieving a sheet from the back seat the woman skillfully caught the minute creature as it tried to scamper away. "Gotcha!" she grinned, making a gentle shushing sound, feeling the powerful muscles of the animal as it turned writhed with its entire body trying to get away.

"It's alright kids, gather around." she said slowly lowering to her knees. "This is the perfect moment to get some real one on one experience with one of our most populous species in the park. Come, sit, sit." she encouraged as Dave fetched a small crate for the animal.

"This is-"

"A real live compsognathus!" Darius cut in with wonder in his eyes as a semi circle formed around Roxie.

"Very good Darius!" she nodded slowly uncovering the animal. Keeping it's body tucked under her right arm the experienced handler gripped it's feet securely, while with her left hand she held it's head, fingers encircling it's snout to keep it from biting. The way the dinosaur pushed and twisted in her grip reminding her of the boa demonstrations she use to give at Whipsnade, only less grabby.

"The first ever compsognathus fossil was discovered in Germany in-"

"The 1850s, the second one wasn't discovered for another century, that one was in France!" the excitable boy in the yellow hoodie cut her off.

"Right again, Darius," the woman nodded, briefly losing her tour guide voice. "This little fellows name comes from Greek words-"

"Kompsos and gnathos, and means 'elegant jaw!'" the boy enthused. "They're primarily scavengers like coyotes and vultures, bu-"

"But," Roxie said loudly, talking over the boy and taking back the impromptu lesson. "Have been known to hunt small lizards and birds. There has also been one confirmed case of a group of compsognathus attacking a human being. Would you like to teach the class Darius?" Roxie grinned, thrilled to have someone so eager among her first batch of campers.

A look of embarrassment flashed across his face as he glanced about at the other teenagers "No," he said. "Sorry."

"Don't be, keep it up," Dave chimmed in from beside Roxie. "You've got a future here for sure! I mean that passion, ten out of ten it will definitely take you places."

"Is- is it bleeding?" came Ben's tentative voice from where he stood far from the spot where the others were crouched. Roxie glanced down at the animal with worry before the boy spoke again. "Right there, on its neck." he explained pointing to the area beneath his own chin.

"Oh that? No! It's perfectly natural!" the woman said with relief. "That red marking on this little compsognathus' throat indicates that it is changing sex from female to male. It's a biological process known as sequential hermaphrodism. And in the case of female to male change its called protogyny." she explained smiling at the looks of interest and slight confusion the kids gave. "It is a common trait seen among plants but is more rare in animals." she went on. "This shift was seen in the animals at the original park and the phenomenon was attributed to the addition of frog DNA to the gene sequence, now however, we know that it is a process that is quite common among many species of dinosaur and probably help them survive in very unfavorable conditions when there wasn't enough genetic diversity, and since all animals in the park begin life as female we get a couple of these fellas from time to time."

"Dinos say trans rights!" Sammy laughed leaning forward for a better angle with her phone.

"Yes, I suppose they do." Roxie agreed, struggling to hold on as the compy arched it's back without warning. "Now who wants to come touch this lovely lady before I put her in the crate?" Hands flew out immediately to touch the side of the agitated animal that hissed and chirped angrily. "Come on Ben, come give it a try I see you've already got hand sanitizer you can touch her and wash up right away!"

"No, thank you." he said climbing back into the truck rubbing his hands together furiously.

"Roar!" Kenji growled loudly in Roxie's ear as he filmed himself frightening the innocent creature that nearly bucked free trying to escape him.

"Kenji!" Roxie yelled as the teen snapped his teeth in the compy's face. Standing she looked at him warningly, her brows knit together tightly.

"He's not that scary." he muttered, while Darius asked, "How do they keep the dinosaurs from, well... Uh, having babies if they can change se- gender like that?" he wanted to know as the counselors maneuvered the dinosaur into the crate.

"Well-" Roxie began before Dave cut her off.

"When she fully turns into a he, they are going to get a little snip, snip." he said making a scissoring motion with his fingers. "Ouch, am I right guys?" he laughed.

"Even though, unlike mammals, both male and female reptiles like dinosaurs carry their, um, reproductive organs inside of their bodies, it is still much easier and less medically invasive to fix a male that it is a female." the woman said carefully toeing the line of a precarious subject.

"Oh, cool." the boy nodded climbing into the truck bed, face plastered to the glass as he watched the compy in its little cage being loaded into the back.

"Did you radio for pick up?" Roxie asked back behind the wheel as everyone piled in.

"Sure did!" Dave nodded still drumming an unidentifiable song against the dash.

"Please stop that."

Once the little animal had been secured Roxie made her way into the treehouse which for the first time ever was full of life. Suitcases and duffle bags discarded with a haphazard disarray the woman watched with amusement as the kids darted around the interior of the massive building trying to take it all in at once. Pure anarchy. 

"Now, don't forget I want the girls in the stegosaurus room. Boys, you're bunking across the hall in the saurolophus room." she called out to them. "And please do pick up after yourselves!" she added after stepping in tortilla chips that she couldn't believe they'd have had the time to locate and begin eating let alone spill everywhere.

"This place is huge!" Sammy squealed bursting through a pair of double doors.

"Ow, watch it!" Yasmina who had been on the other side of them snapped, a hand on her forehead where the oak had bounced off soundly.

"Ice is in the freezer." the head couselor rolled her eyes, ignoring both the athlete's sarcastic remark to her and Sammy's fervent apologies.

Rounding a corner the woman stopped short, almost causing a collision herself as Dave emerged from a disued bedroom his arm around Ben's shoulders as he explained that no one was getting their own room. The boy looked ill, like he'd just swallowed a box of slugs, and she wondered briefly is he was about to throw up again, before deciding that even if he did Dave was more than qualified to handle the situation.

"Attention campers!" Roxanne called loudly from the loft above the main living space. "I need everyone to pick a bunk, put your bag on it, and meet back here in ten minutes for a little introductory film before the real fun can begin." she announced. There was a collective groan, but after a moment everyone began to gather their things and shuffle down the hall.

"This is a learning camp!" Kenji shouted loudly during the film that outlined the various activities that would take place over their eight week stay.

"Yes Kenji, this is a learning camp," Roxie called with exasperation from her seat at the back of the miniature auditorium where she had a clear view of all six of them. "Now quiet down or I'm going to have to restart the film and then we won't have time to ride the zipline before dinner."

"Zipline?" came a chorus is excited voices, as the kids turned to look at her. Smiling, Roxie would have been lying if she said she hadn't hoped for that exact reaction.

Not long after they were all standing at the top of a large tower in the growing twilight. Roxie listened with amusement while Darius rapidly named off several species of dinosaur as the herd walked back to their enclosures. Having forgotten, for an instant just how truly marvelous a place Jurassic World was the woman found herself leaning on the railing dreamily taking in the scene with a sense of romanticism. Dinosaurs walked the earth once more, it was easy to forget what an achievement that was when you mostly saw the little lizard like representatives of the class that managed to scurry out day after day, but seeing the gentle giants ambling by brought the magic right back. 

She'd actually made it, she thought watching the large animals lumbering far below them. It was beautiful.

"Enough banter!" Dave said cutting through her musings. "It's zipline party time!"

Roxie couldn't help but roll her eyes. Dave was really just a big kid, she thought watching as he made the child clearly the most apprehensive about the entire situation go first. Honestly, if she had known that she was going to have to babysit him too she would have asked for a raise. 

Riding down last the woman felt the wind in her hair, and a giddy flock of butterflies in her stomach. "Woo!" she yelled loudly spreading her arms as though she could fly, before leaning her head back, eyes closed. This was nirvana, she thought, losing herself blissfully to the wind.

"I'm sorry Ben, I would have thought all food allergies and dietary restrictions would have been taken into consideration before you arrived." Roxie apologized as everyone sat to dinner. "Next time just say something, don't try making a salad out if hamburger toppings, alright?"

"Alright." he nodded before adding. "And it's ok, I like peanut butter and jelly." with a little smile.

"Oh! You should try it grilled!" Sammy piped up, half rising out of her chair as she spoke energetically. "It's so good! You just got to give it a minute to cool down before you eat it or you'll burn your face off with peanut butter lava!"

"I think I'll pass." the boy said with a look of disgust.

"Oh that does sound good!" Brooklynn, who was busy trying to edit everything she had filmed for the day said without looking up. "My viewers would love it, the hot peanut butter challenge!"

"Isn't that a little dangerous." Yasmina scoffed from across the table picking at her french fries. "What if you send a kid to the hospital or something."

"Jesus it was just a joke." Brooklynn replied a hint of contempt in her tone.

"That's quite enough ladies," Roxie interrupted looking at them each in turn. "Now we have some ground rules to go over. Curfew is at eight o'clock, lights out at nine sharp, and I do mean sharp unless you are given express permission by either Dave or mys- unless I tell you otherwise." she said thinking better of the statement when she glanced at her counterpart.

"Wha-?" he asked wounded, mouth over filled with burger contents spilling out.

"I mean it, this is for your safety we're in a dinosaur filled jungle. You must always keep your distance or you could be seriously hurt, if not worse." the woman said making sure to look each and every camper in the eyes emphasizing her point. "There is also a basket by the main door, when we go out for our activities each day you will kindly deposit your cellphones into it-" the table exploded with lound complaints, Roxie waited for the noise to die down before going on. "With the exception of Brooklynn."

"What?" Darius practically shouted. "That's not fair I want to take pictures I- I-"

"Sorry dude, should have brought a disposable camera." Dave shrugged.

"What's a disposable camera?" the boy asked, with confusion.

"Am I really that old?" the man muttered into his food before taking another harty bite.

"What can I say," Roxie sighed. "It's in her contract"

"Must be nice being famous." Yasmina sneered.

"Wait you're getting paid to be here?" Kenji asked sitting forward.

"Yep! It's sort of a working vacation thing." Brooklynn said in a tone that made it seem like she was trying to sound more mature than she really was.

"And you won a contest?" the spiky haired boy went on turning to Darius. "You were given the trip as a thanks to your folks, and you're basically getting paid to be here because they're sponsoring you..." he went on going around the table, before throwing his hands up in defeat. "I can't believe it, am I the only one who was forced to come here?"

"Um..." Ben said meekly.

"Well that's not a surprise!" Kenji laughed. "Oh no look at me I'm Ben, I might touch a leaf, or a piece of dirt! Someone quick get the disinfectant!"

"That's enough Kenji. I'm sorry you don't want to be here, but that doesn't give you a right to be rude to your fellow campers." Roxie said irritably. "Do what we say, when we say it, and everything will be fine. Now hurry up and eat your food, we had a late dinner and you've only got an hour and a half before lights out."

Stretching out on the couch in the employee recreation area, tablet resting on her stomach, Roxie lounged with her eyes closed, grateful that Dave had offered to wash up. Things had gone extremely well, she felt the kids would settle in soon enough and really enjoy their stay. It had been a bit touch and go a few times but it was a first day the woman felt she could be proud of.

She jumped slightly when something smacked the bottom of her shoes where her feet dangled across the armrest. "Sit up." Dave yawned.

"Ha," Roxie said faking a laugh. "That's a good one."

"At least make some room."

"There are other couches." the woman grumbled as she curled her legs up.

"Yeah, but I want this one." the man said collapsing back into the space she'd made for him. "We did good today." he added after a minute.

"We sure did." the woman agreed, falling victim to the contagious nature of yawning.

"Did you do bed checks?" Roxie asked, startling herself awake after she had begun to doze.

"Yes." Dave replied in a way that made it sound like he was asking a question.

"Dave, seriously!" she snapped getting up. A cold chill laced her spine when they discovered three empty bunks.

"Think, where would they have gone?" Roxie shouted white knuckling the steering wheel as the counselors sped through the night.

"I don't know!" Dave responded at an equal volume. "Darius was really worked up about seeing dinosaurs do you really think he could have convinced the others to sneak out and see them?"

"I think it's pretty obvious that, that is exactly what happened!"

"Ok, ok, we can use this, think, just think..." the man muttered. "They've only been here one day and don't know the lay of the land yet, so they wouldn't know where the herd goes for the night... And the only enclosure you can really see from the treehouse in the dark is-"

"The raptor training paddock!" they gasped in unison. Roxie slammed on the brakes turning the Jeep around fast and hard, their heads snapping first one direction then the other. Racing towards the distant lights the woman's heart pounded in her chest. Please she thought gravely, please be alright.

"Help! Someone help!" Brooklynn was screaming from the catwalk above the enclosure, the sight making Roxie's blood run cold. Leaping out of the car the counselors ran up to the base of the paddock.

"Where are the boys?" Roxie called up to her. Tearily the girl pointed down.

"Oh God no." Roxie murmured swaying with a hollowed sense of dizziness, she felt faint and grabbed onto to Dave's shoulder to brace herself. Then they heard Darius and Kenji shouting.

"I'll get them." Dave said without hesitating, a fierce look of determination overcoming him as he ran around the tall concrete cylinder towards the door.

What could she do to help? The woman thought frantically, pressing one hand hard against her temple, the other gripping the front of her shirt tightly, pain in her chest from how maddeningly her heart beat. What could she do? They were predators like lions, what would she have done if a child fell into the lion enclosure at Whipsnade? She asked herself trying to reason an answer out of an unreasonable situation. They needed a distraction, but what she fretted would stave off their hunting instincts? The loud grunting of the pigs in a nearby pen caught her attention, and like flash of lightning she was struck with a horrendous idea.

Running to the pen she grabbed the first animal she could get a hold of and drug it back over the waist high gate with her. Gripping it from behind the woman desperately began hauling it up a flight of stairs that led to the walkway above the cage. "Come on, come on!" she said between gritted teeth using every ounce of strength she had to drag the squealing animal up with her as it thrashed and fought for it's life. Roxie bellowed in pain, almost losing her grip when the hog threw it's head back the impact causing a flair in her vision as she tasted blood. "Please!" she wept loudly as it kicked, hooves scraping and cutting her forearms.

Finally making it to the catwalk the now crying woman pushed and heaved the biting animal against the railing until she finally managed to get it up and over. The pig hit the ground with a sickening thud, a scream of agony coming from it as it started convulsing in a seizure from the impact.

"Oh my God." Roxie gasped turning away only to see Brooklynn staring down in horror at what she'd done.

"Don't look!" the woman commanded hugging the girl to her chest and covering her ears. "It's ok, it's alright, just don't look."

Through her tears the counselor could see that her ploy had worked as three of the velociraptors turned on the pig vying with one another over the wounded animal. One still remained keen on her prey however and launched an assault. The scream that ripped itself from Roxie's throat was filled with such terror that she failed to recognize the voice as her own. Everything happened so quickly then, the door opened, Dave lunged forward and yanked the boys back grabbing hold of them anyway he could manage, putting himself between them and the dinosaur before a barred gate fell into place separating them.

Grabbing Brooklynn by the hand the woman rushed to check on everyone. Turning the boys this way and that she looked them over for anything amiss, and aside from pale, fearful expressions found nothing. "Dave?" she asked the man, putting a hand on his shoulder as he doubled over heaving.

"It's fine, it's nothing." he said trying to wave her away as he threw up. Several ACU vehicles pulled in surrounding the area, guns ready, one motioned for them to leave immediately. 

"See, just a scratch." Dave smiled lifting his shirt to reveal a bloody gash in his side as they made their way back to the Jeep. Hands flying over her mouth Roxie gasped. "It looks a lot worse than it feels, doubt I'll even need stitches." he said dismissively before motioning to the woman's face and arms. "What did you lose a fight to?" he smiled, trying to defuse the situation by acting charming. The woman looked at him and sighed.

"Get in the car, now. The three of you are in serious trouble." Roxanne hissed between her teeth pointing back the way they'd come as more soldiers surrounded the paddock.

Trying to fight off tears as she screamed and drove Roxie didn't remember half of what she had said by the time they reached the tree house where she continued to tirade for another twenty minutes, only vaguely aware of how much she was swearing, and hitting the steering wheel as she did. "Now get up stairs." she concluded still shaking.

"You alright?" Dave asked as the kids got out of the Jeep.

"No. Are you?" she asked wiping her eyes.

"Not even a little bit." he smiled sadly. "I don't think I've ever been more afraid in my life."

"Me either." the woman confessed before a quizzical expression crossed her face. "Oh God," she said. "I just realized, I quoted my mother to the kids a moment ago. Now, there's something I never expected to do!" The two shared a laugh before getting out of the car and following their wayward charges inside.

Pulling a chair in from the dining room Roxie parked it facing the wall. Swinging her leg over the seat the woman staddled it backwards, arms folded across the backrest she leaned her chin on top of them. A cool sense of panic still writhing in her gut she was determined to sit watch all night. Closing her eyes as she tried to calm her breathing the woman listened to two vary different conversations taking place in each of the rooms.

"What happened?" Sammy was whispering, rather loudly. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, Dave and Roxie came in here and noticed you were gone and started threatening us with getting sent home if we weren't still in bed when they got back!" Yasmina hissed. "What is up with that, why am I getting the heat for whatever stupid decision you made?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know!" Brooklynn said, her voice sounded sad giving Roxie a twinge of remorse as she wondered if she had been too hard on them. "I was just trying to get a good video for my viewers and-"

"Surprise! Surprise!" Yasmina said sarcastically, before, by the sound of the bed springs turning away.

"Are you alright Brooklynn?" Sammy asked after a second. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm ok." Brooklynn replied, sniffling her nose. "And not right now... thanks though Sammy, I appreciate it."

"Well, I'm here if you need anything..."

"Did you see the way that thing came at us?" Kenji was saying enthusiastically in the boys room, his momentary shell shock forgotten.

"Yeah!" Darius laughed nervously. "That was insane!"

"I know it was like grrr, rawr, arg!" the older boy said falling into a terrible raptor impression.

"You all do realize I can hear you." the head counselor called out, causing the rooms to quickly fall silent.

The hush lasted mere moments before a dim light flickered to life in the room with a saurolophus on the door.

"Did you just plug in a nightlight?" Kenji asked incredulously.

"No!" Ben scoffed.

"Yes you did!"

"It's not a nightlight, it's a safety light, so you don't trip." Ben explained with indignation in his voice. "You're welcome!"

"Fess up it's a nightlight because little baby Ben is scared of the dark meanwhile me and Darius are out juking velociraptors left and right!"

"Kenji Kon, one more word out of you and you're on the first boat home!" the woman said in stern warning. Once again peace fell over the treehouse.

With a smile, one hand pressed tight against his side Dave walked over and handed her the medkit. "You got this?" he asked motioning between the rooms. He winced when Roxie started cleaned out the wound with rubbing alcohol.

"Oh, I most definitely have this." she confirmed tearing the medical tape between her teeth to fasten the gauze she was applying. "Are you sure you won't go in? The bleeding stopped alright but you still might need some sutures."

"Nah, I'm fine, it's nothing." he shook his head. "You?"

"Just some bumps and bruises." she said just as nonchalantly, turning her attention, and the alcohol to the abrasions on her arms.

"Quick thinking with that pig." he said looking down at her. "I mean, it was fucking brutal, but good job." Roxie cringed at the thought.

"Says the man of the hour, how's it feel going head to head with a velociraptor and living to tell the tale?" she asked.

"Not as great as you might expect, ask me again in the morning." he grinned. "So, if you're sure you can handle things..." Dave added trailing off to give her the opportunity to interrupt or change her mind.

"The situation is well at hand." she smiled. "Get some rest."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

After cleaning out the scrapes and cuts Roxie settled herself into a comfortable position for the night. The stance of hugging the chair backing making her reminiscent of being on birthing watch for the giraffe back home. She remembered thinking that it was the most stressful thing she had done, or would ever do in her life. If she had known then, that in a few years she'd be babysitting a bunch of unruly teenagers in a dinosaur inhabited theme park, she probably would have been able to get some sleep that night. Fending off a yawn she couldn't help but laugh at how naive she had been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gentle reminder, this is a mature retelling and not a scene for scene explanation of what happened in the show. While the main story will be the same for season 1 individual details might be different, with some things altered or omitted.
> 
> If anyone at any time feels like the rating needs to be bumped up please let me know right away!
> 
> And last but not least thank you all so much for reading, commenting, and supporting my take on Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous! I'm enjoying writing this story just as much as y'all seem to be having fun reading it, hopefully it will live up to your expectations and not disappoint in the future! Love y'all! <3
> 
> (Also sorry piggy)


	8. Asymmetry

-CC Day Two-

A loud metallic clatter ripped Ben abruptly from a dreamless sleep. Severed from the void, heart racing, he gripped the sheets tight as he turned in alarm to see what was causing such a din. Standing in the hallway between the two rooms Dave grinned maniacally, a large stock pot under one arm, as with a wooden spoon he banged noisily against the sides of the now battered cooking utensil. "Everybody up!" he called over ruckus he was making. "I mean it wakey wakey eggs and bakey! ...Seriously, wake up I made breakfast."

Ben groaned looking around with a bedraggled disorientation and uncertainty at the unfamiliar surroundings. Right, he thought miserably, how could he have forgotten? Listening to the sounds of the other campers as they just as unhappily began moving around to start the day he covered his head with a pillow. He didn't want to be here, and that was not the wakeup call he would have requested he thought, bitterly cursing the man in his head, hand pressed against the allegrissimo tempo in his chest. Taking a deep breath he tried to calm it, wearily unable resist the urge of catching just a few more minutes. Camp was going to suck.

"Come on Ben, get up." Darius yawned from somewhere near the end of the bed. Ben didn't reply, lying still, pretending to be asleep, hoping they would all just go away and leave him alone.

"You heard Dave, let's go!" Kenji shouted, before the world tilted without warning. Scrambling with a panicked look on his face Ben emerged from beneath the pillow to see the older boy laughing as he held onto the top bunk rocking the conjoined beds back and forth using all his might. "Let's go!"

"If you need to go so bad, then go already! Just please remember to do it outside this time, I'm sure Dave and Roxie are tired of cleaning up your messes." Ben said with a glare, trying, and in his opinion failing, to wring some wit out of his slumber hazed mind.

Darius laughed, eager to get in on the joke, "Yeah last night really was a shitty situation."

"Funny you should say that." Dave smirked sticking his head through the doorway. "Also no swearing." he added as an afterthought.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kenji asked still clinging to the railing.

"You'll see." the man grinned. "Now get to the kitchen foods getting cold."

Sitting cross-legged still half covered by blankets Ben reluctantly rubbed the sleep from his eyes before getting up and walking to the small dresser that had been provided to him. He had taken the time to fold and organize his clothes, books, sanitizer, and emergency food stuffs before bed, and, he thought critically, he appeared to have been the only one to do so by the way his bunkmates were rifling through their bags. Folding his outfit over an arm, travel toothbrush in hand Ben turned only to find the other two standing near their respective beds undressing. Eyes hurriedly averted the boy shifted uncomfortably for a moment before squeezing sanitizer into his palm and slinking out the door.

He was heading for the bathrooms when the teen rounded the circular bend in the hall only stop suddenly, nearly walking into Sammy who had her own bundle of clothes and a groggy look in her eye. "Oh, sorry Ben," she smiled broadly. "It is Ben right? I wasn't really looking where I was going. That was some wake up, huh? Anyway, I thought there were some full sized bathrooms down this way, ones with showers."

"There are, to the left." he confirmed, pointing over the girl's shoulder.

"Thanks, I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached." she responded with a kind of cheer he now felt should be expected of her. Ben smiled in a friendly manner and continued walking. Only, to find to his dismay that the girl fell into pace beside him. "So what was all that last night?"

"I don't really know." he shrugged.

"Brooklynn didn't say much, but she seemed all kinds of shook up." Sammy chatted, shifting her clothes from one hand to the other as she spoke. "Like something really bad happened. Did Kenji and Darius say anything?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "They kept whispering about it. From what I can tell it sounds like they snuck into a velociraptor cage." he shuddered at the the very thought.

"OMG, no way!" she gasped grabbing Ben by the shoulder and turning him towards her as she stared with wide eyed disbelief. He couldn't tell if she was surprised or impressed, either way he felt that it was the wrong response to hearing such horrific, bone chilling news.

"Um, yeah." the boy half smiled. "Crazy huh?"

"Super crazy! I wonder if Brooklynn caught any of it on camera! Oh her fans are going to go insane!" she went on in a starstruck manner. "I wonder if she'll let me see the vid before posting! Wouldn't that just be the bee's knees?"

"Totally." he agreed, before awkwardly gesturing to one of the doors they had come to. "So I'm going to..."

"Oh, right, duh Sammy!" the girl playfully smacked herself on the forehead. "See you at breakfast!" 

That was... interesting, the boy thought giving his head a shake as he closed the door behind him, that girl certainly did have a strong personality. 

Setting his clothes aside Ben couldn't avoid looking at himself in the mirror, and what he saw twisted his insides. Weak, and dirty, he thought with a grimace. Giving his hands a thorough scrub in the sink, he soaped all the way to the elbow paying careful attention to the area around his nails. He repeated the action a few more times, eyes closed, breath taken in deep steadying swells before he could get undressed. Changing quickly the boy folded his dirty pajamas giving a brief thought to how often they would wash laundry and brushed his teeth. 

Making his way back to the saurolophus room Ben knocked on the door which had been left slightly ajar. Receiving no answer he hurried inside, stashing his dirty clothes in a hamper before digging to through his top drawer. There folded discreetly into a pair of socks he produced one prescription bottle, before revealing it's two companions similarly housed nearby. Palming his morning dosages the teen hid them away again with care. I'm not crazy, he thought looking down at the pills, but he wasn't so sure the others would understand. Then, with no other recourse he swallowed them dry, gagging on the momentary sensation that one was stuck.

By the time he had made it to the dinning room most of his fellow campers were already seated around the table. Brooklynn, still in her pajamas was leaning onto it, a steaming mug cradled in one hand. Darius and Kenji were busily emptying a communal plate of bacon, vying for the best pieces, while Sammy who looked more awake after a shower was salting her eggs, enjoying the spectacle. "Reminds me of breakfast back home!" she observed with a laugh.

"Morning Benny boy!" Dave said in a friendly tone from where he stood frying up some more slices of cured pig stomach, earning a frown from the teen. "I was thinking to myself I have no idea what to make this kid, and then I thought duh cereal!" the man gestured to the end of the table where several brightly colored boxes were lined up like soldiers.

Sinking into the chair behind them Ben inspected each container of the sugary coated corn with distaste. "Is there any granola, or bran?" he asked.

"You are one weird kid." Dave commented as he flipped the meat with a nauseating sizzle.

"Is that a no?"

"That would be a no, sorry." the man confirmed ducking into the fridge to produce a gallon of milk.

"I don't drink milk." Ben muttered reading the ingredients on the back of each box, all of this stuff was so bad for you.

"No, doesn't being vegan mean that you just don't y'know eat dead animals?" Dave thought out loud as he plated up the next round.

"I wouldn't eat live ones either, but that might just be me." Ben replied with a hint of sarcasm. "Besides I'm pretty sure I'd be the authority on what I do and do not eat."

Dave raised his eyebrows, head nodding to the side as he conceded before sudden movement caught his eye. "Ah-ah where do you think you're going?" he asked making everyone else turn to see Yasmina in her running gear jogging in place.

Rolling her eyes the girl took an earbud out and looked at the man irritably. "What?"

"Where, are, you, going?" he asked spelling things out slowly.

"For a run, it's summer. I've got to train." she responded matter of factly.

"Yeah, no, not today, not after what happened last night," the counselor shook his head, pointing to an empty chair. "Pull up a seat."

"Are you kidding me?" she scoffed throwing her arms out. 

Ben, not wanting to get involved turned his attention back to the ingredients list, trying to weed out the lesser of five evils.

"Good morning!" the black eyed Roxie said in a chipper way, catching everyone off guard when she walked into the dining area a little while later.

"Wow, you are scarily happy for someone who didn't sleep last night." Dave observed, and Ben looking between them agreed.

"That's because the boy's present is here!" she beamed passing Ben by to put a hand on either of his roommates shoulders. "Walk with me will you?" she asked in a way that indicated it wasn't a request.

Everyone bursting with curiosity followed behind them to the balcony. There they looked down and saw a group of men in red jumpsuits unloading large blue metal drums and arranging them in a row. "I don't get it." Darius said turning to look at the woman.

"Oh, you will." she smirked, and then on cue a dumptruck backed in and emptied it's bed onto the ground.

"Is that?" Kenji started, brow furrowed with concern.

"Yep!" Roxie beamed. "Dinosaur droppings. I want everyone to take a good long look, because while we're having our trip to the remote genetics lab, Kenji and Darius are going to be cleaning up that little mess outside." the two began complaining loudly, but to Ben's imagination the more upset they got, the more the woman seemed to be enjoying herself. "And don't worry," she added. "We didn't forget about you Brooklynn. Your contract states that you will document your behind the scenes look at Camp Cretaceous, but there will be nothing to film on our scheduled arts and crafts days, and that my dear is when you will get yours."

"What?" the pink haired girl gasped turning around in horror.

Making a mental note never to get on the camp counselors' bad sides Ben headed back to the kitchen to finish his disastrous breakfast while the woman explained that they had even "borrowed" their own intern from the main park to supervise. After everything was settled Ben and the non-probationary campers buckled up into the back of the Jeep heading out on their adventure, but the prospect of so many unknowns turned the boy's stomach with more unease than the line if dense green trees that zipping by did.

The lab itself appeared relatively small from the road, until the kids got closer, and then Ben could see that much of it was hidden beneath thick, overgrown foliage. Large palms and creeping vines shrouding most of the exterior with a foreboding sense of mystery. Apprehensively following the others Ben watched Dave chase down a man named Dr. Wu in a way that made him think they were friends, or at least had been at some point. The scientist appeared to be both too busy and too annoyed to deal with the tour, waving them off and issuing orders for someone else to handle the inconvenience. 

There was a terse discussion between Wu and another scientist before she came over and in a bright smile said, "Welcome! I'm sorry, but I believe we were all under the impression that you were coming tomorrow so we didn't have time to prepare." she started ignoring an angry snort from the head camp counselor. "No matter, how about we begin over here." Directing the group to a large wall that was sectioned off into tiny shelves, each one housing a polished piece of amber, the woman seemed to be well in her element.

"Here at Jurassic World we're known for having created the first living, breathing de-extinct dinosaurs on the planet! Wow, right? Now, there is a common misconception floating around that we created these animals all willy-nilly out of a hodgepodge of various animals that are alive today, but the truth is actually much more fascinating!" she said with energy. 

"In reality we harvest the DNA of actual dinosaurs that once walked the earth millions of years ago! There are two ways that we accomplish this. The first and more time consuming method is by collecting and grinding up large quantities of fossilized bone and extracting the mitochondrial or 'powerhouse' cell DNA, which is passed through mother to offspring and can give us a fairly good idea of the makeup of the animal themselves. The second way is through extracting preserved blood from hematophage, or blood drinking insects, like those seen here." she went on, waving her hand in a way that gave Ben the impression of a car show model. "Giving us nuclear DNA, or the 'molecule of life's as we like to call it which is a much clearer picture of what we're dealing with."

Ben, who was only half listening looked around at the vast, white room in which he found himself. All about him people in labcoats were hunched over computer screens analyzing data, or tapping out notes onto tablets, periodically conferring with one another as they did. In spite of the chemical smell in the air, and the general antiseptic feel of the atmosphere the teen felt uneasy, glancing about with paranoia at the various tools and implements, and the strangers who wielded them.

"I don't like this place, it feels like a hospital." Yasmina said under her breath to the group. Nodding Ben timidly agreed.

As the tour moved on the teenager's found themselves passing a large glass window, on the other side of which people were working with an array of instruments and testing various sequences of genes, tubes filled with unknown liquids held to the light for inspection. Cringing away from the window with revulsion Ben who couldn't keep his mind from wondering what the beakers and vials contained and was struck with an intense bout of squeamishness.

"Benny Ill, what's a matter? You look like you're going to barf all over again!" Dave observed as the two trailed behind the group. Gripping the boy by both shoulders, he gave them a gentle squeeze, and steered him forward like a shopping cart as they walked. "You didn't catch the flu or something before coming to camp did you? I assumed it was the boat but if you're sick you gotta tell one of us, it's not a big deal." the man was saying, but Ben couldn't hear him. 

Hands drawn in close the boy was electrified with fear, breath taken in shallow respirations, head light, dizzy with aversion. Don't, he thought tearily, please don't. Unable to bring himself to say anything, and too afraid to pull away Ben who started to retreat within felt as though he were falling. Falling right through his body, and then the floor, and the ground, falling, falling, falling. Scarcely aware of his surroundings now, body moving on its own accord, he was a marionette on unseen strings as they walked past row after row of incubating eggs. Distant and removed from himself he didn't even hear the woman's words as she explained the fertilization process.

They stopped when Dave noticed a tremble in one of the eggs, calling eagerly for everyone's attention, before stepping aside to allow the kids a better view. The egg in question rocked gently before a crack appeared, followed not long after by a little club tail. Witnessing something splatter on him from his far away place Ben recoiled. Then, the little animal tumbled and fell. The teen caught it in a quick automated response. 

Fingers slick with albumen they slid sickeningly over the pebbled surface of the creature's back. He was turning to hand the animal off to someone else when he became acutely aware of the little heartbeat that fluttered lightly against his palm. Hesitating, Ben lifted the lingering piece of shell off the dinosaur's head. It blinked looking at him with large bright eyes, the light they held catching onto him, drawing him in, and holding onto him like a lightning rod. The ankylosaurus gave a squeak. Warmth rushing throughout his body the boy smiled. She wasn't disgusting, he thought coming back to himself, she was just a baby, a tiny, fragile little life at it's very beginning, and he had been a part of it. 

"Shh, shh, shh," he whispered softly to the petite animal. "She's so tiny." he observed, fingers gently cupping the little the ankylosaurus as though she were the most valuable treasure on earth. "Look." he muttered to no one in particular, running his thumb over her uneven horns with affection.

"Sweet! One of its head bumps is bigger than the other!" Brooklynn called loudly, her phone pressed invasively into the newborn's face.

"Asymmetry," Dr. Wu called with upset from where he had been working. "In my lab?" The man walked over and peered over Ben's shoulder with shrewd appraisal at the baby.

"Let me hold her." Yasmina said reaching for her at the same time.

"When was the last time you washed your hands?" Ben asked, moving the little one he had decided to call Bumpy out of her reach. "She is a newborn and it sounds like she's also premature on top of it. I don't want you exposing her to any contagions her little immune system isn't ready for yet." 

"It was just a lucky catch," the girl snapped. "It's not like you own the thing!"

"She's not a thing!" Ben retorted angrily.

Gazing down at Bumpy for a long moment Ben felt strangely whole, as this time the world fell away leaving just the two of them. A sense that for the first time, in a long time everything was going to be alright settling comfortably over the boy like a warm blanket. 

Putting Bumpy down among her unhatched siblings he watched as she tested out her legs with shaky scoots that soon turned into tumbling rolls across the black foam of the nest, Ben lovingly kept vigil as she returned to him after each fumbling circuit. The entire group was enamored with the ankylosaurus and found themselves amused with her antics for several minutes, until Ben couldn't resist picking her up again and giving her a kiss.

It was then that Dr. Wu who had gone to his private office reappeared, a disgruntled Brooklynn in tow. "Time for you all to leave," the man announced. "Clearly this group has no respect for my lab."

"But what about Bumpy?" Ben asked in concern, ignoring Dave who gushed behind him.

"The asset," Dr. Wu said, ripping her away from Ben. "Will soon be released into a herd of ankylosaurs where she will be their problem, just as you will cease to be my problem when you leave."

Ben reached to take her back, made anxious by the frightened sounds coming from Bumpy as the scientist held her carelessly aloft, her teeny feet circling in the air. He was prepared to argue when Dave and Roxie quickly began ushering the group towards the door, giving the boy the impression that they were trying to keeps the situation from getting any worse than it already was. Looking back at her Ben felt a sharp pain in his chest as she called for him where she had been deposited, scientists approaching her from every side.

"She's not a problem." he said as Roxie coasted him out of the room. "She's just a baby."

"Oh dear, do you hear the way she's calling Ben? I'm afraid she may have imprinted on you." the woman explained in a kindly nature. "I used to work at a zoo, did you know? The same thing happened to me with one of our endangered Japanese Cranes, poor thing. But don't you worry I'm sure everything will be fine."

But climbing into the back of the truck all Ben could do was worry. 

Dr. Wu had been so angry, and disgusted over Bumpy's imperfect horns, the way he spoke about her, calling her an "asset," holding her like she wasn't a living being with feelings. The other scientists that were encircling her when they left were upset too, murmuring to one another judgmentally as they took notes on her "flaws." The sound of the baby ankylosaurus' small rasping voice still ringing in his ears the boy's heart sank, a terrible thought coming to mind. What if they planned to euthenize her for being imperfect? 

His breath caught. He shouldn't have mentioned her head bumps to anyone he thought beginning to sway in his seat. Everyone was so angry with Bumpy for not living up to expectations, for hatching early, for her less than ideal physical appearance. She was so tiny, so vulnerable, and so alone. Defenseless and surrounded by people who didn't care about her he dreaded what the judicious adults would do to their deficient "asset." 

They were going to kill her, he thought quickly becoming overwhelmed by tears, she was just a baby and she was going to die. They were going to kill her. They were going to kill her. They were going to kill her. He spiraled.

"Ben, what's happening?" he heard Yasmina ask, but he was sobbing now and couldn't respond. "Guys, Ben's crying."

"Aw Ben it's alright I'm sure you'll see Bumpy again later!" Sammy tried to assure him.

"Yeah!" Brooklynn chimmed in. "And I have the video of her hatching whenever you want to see it!"

The saline taste of mucus and tears in his mouth Ben couldn't stop himself from crying, now matter how embarrassed he was knowing the others were staring at him, as he anxiously tried to wash the guilt away with hand cleaner. After a while the girls began to bang on the rear window glass in concern.

"What's the matter is everyone alright?" Roxie asked out of the driver's side as she pulled the Jeep off to the side of the road. 

"Whoa Been-jammin' what's up?" Dave asked walking to the tailgate.

"It's just Ben!" the boy sobbed.

"Ok, I'm sorry. What's wrong Ben, don't feel well? Whatever it is you can tell us."

"Come on ladies, hop out, let's give him some air." Roxie instructed after parking and walking to the back. Ben cried for what felt like hours until he was finally able to articulate what terrible thoughts had been plaguing him. "Oh Ben," the woman said with empathy climbing up beside him, gently she took his hand in her own. "They wouldn't just put an animal down because of a little cosmetic anomaly." she said trying to comfort him. "Would giving the lab a call make you feel better?"

"I don't know." Ben confessed, afraid of what the scientists would have to say.

Pulling out her cell Roxie called to confirm her suspicions. Her voice was bright and cheery until they were put on hold, elevator music blasting throughout the jungle, the phone's speaker on. By the time Dr. Wu finally accepted the call the woman was clear, precise and to the point in her aggravation. "What do you plan to do with the ankylosaurus that hatched today during our tour?"

"As I said previously she will be released into a herd of her species where she will-"

"What about her imperfections?" Roxie asked cutting the man off. "Do you plan to euthenize her over them?"

"No, the deformity is minor and it would not be worth the cost, time, and resources put into developing the asset to simply destroy it, in spite of the disappoint." the man said, Roxie smiled down at Ben who tentatively returned the expression. 

"If the asymmetry is a sign of further, more debilitating defects of which to cost of maintenance would exceed the cost of life then the possibility of-"

"Thank you Dr. Wu, that was very helpful!" Roxie rushed out, mashing the red end call button furiously. "See Ben everything is going to be fine!"

"Only of she's not sick too..." the boy muttered.

"She isn't." the woman said firmly. "I promise, and when we go out for an expedition in a couple weeks I'll get her radio call number and you can go see Pointy happy, and healthy with her herd!"

"It's Bumpy," Ben corrected. "You'd do that?"

"Sure will!" Dave grinned confidently smacking the boy's leg with the back of his hand from where he stood beside the truck bed. Ben was still uneasy but he accepted their offer, wiped his face free of tears.

When they got back Darius, Kenji, and Jayson the intern were all standing near the repugnant heap of animal waste. Filth clinging to the pants of the younger boys who past momentary glares towards their supervisor they were all panting. Kenji held his side, Darius leaned against a shovel in the most casual way someone could lean against a shovel, and Jayson smiled winningly despite the stench.

"Why do you all look so flushed?" Roxie asked sceptically, Jeep rolling to a stop beside them.

"Oh man," Kenji enthused. "You're never going to believe-"

"How hard these two worked!" Jayson cut in, running a hand through his messy blond hair. "I was, uh just lending them a hand, they've been very diligent."

"Yeah!" Darius agreed. "This valuable learning experience has really taught us a lot about ourselves!"

"Alright," Roxie said slowly pulling forward. "You can stop for lunch, and a little break but meant what I said about cleaning it all up, and it looks like you've barely made a dent. You don't want to do this all day tomorrow too do you?"

"No, we'll get it done, promise!" Darius smiled before asking. "How was the lab?"

"Oh you know," Yasmina intoned sarcastically. "Ben fell in love with a dinosaur and had a-" she stopped seeing how the boy ducked his head down in shame and embarrassment. "A hard time leaving afterwards. And Super Star here," she motioned to Brooklynn. "Got us booted from the lab."

After everyone went inside and the counselors began assembling lunch, Ben took the opportunity for a moment alone while the others were in the shower. Sitting on his bunk he couldn't keep from dwelling on his negative thoughts, recalling with some remorse tainted joy the little animal who had looked with him with pure devotion. She was so small and helpless, he thought when there was a knock on the door.

"Hey Ben," Sammy smiled. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." he nodded, quickly making room when the girl walked straight to his bunk, clearly intending to sit down. 

Sammy swung her feet over the edge of the bed for a minute before she spoke again. "I couldn't help but notice that your hands are all cracked and dry." she started, making the boy self-conscious, he folded his arms trying to hide his hands. "No, not in like a bad way or anything!" she rushed out an explanation. "My hands can get terrible working on the ranch back home, and then the little dry patches get snagged in a rope, or catch inside my gloves and start bleedin' it's a real mess. So I just wanted to give you this." the girl added holding a pump bottle towards him. "It's sweet pea, lavender scented I hope that's alright, feel free to say no, or that I should mind my own business, but your hands just look really painful... So..." she shrugged.

Ben looked at the lotion for a minute before accepting the gift. "Thanks."

"If you ever-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Ben interrupted, a gut reaction.

"If you ever need a friend," she smiled. "I'm here. Now come on, I heard since we had to cut the tour short we get to watch a movie in the auditorium! If it comes to a vote I don't want to be outnumbered by all the action buffs! You're not an action buff are you?"

"No." Ben laughed.

"Good! I didn't think so, but you never know."

The boy watched Sammy leave with a smile, maybe they weren't all bad, he thought giving the hand cream a sniff before taking a squirt, and working it into his hands that burned and stung with protest. And being here might not be entirely unbearable, he pondered picking up his book, hoping Sammy wouldn't be too disappointed if he read during the movie if he agreed to vote for whatever she wanted. It was kinda nice, having a friend, he mused, he only hoped the little one he had made earlier would be alright too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darius and Kenji gave Jayson the slip when he being a disgruntled young adult who wants to work with dinosaurs not babysit kids on poop patrol all day got busy playing games on his phone. The Toro thing still happened, Jayson had been looking for them and in his panic to make it look like they had been working all day shoved the boys into a pile of dung to make them look filthy.
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


	9. Free Fall

-CC Day Six-

The bright glow of her cellphone illuminating her face Brooklynn sat in bed with the blankets tented over her. She was ravenously scrolling through the comment section of her latest vid, and things weren't going well. Sure there were hundreds of comments asking for an update on the now world famous "Bumpy" which she couldn't respond to with any certainty or evidence, huge threads dedicated Roxie for some reason, and even some viewers eagerly requesting information about when Camp Cretaceous would be open for enrollment. All of these things paled in comparison however to what seemed like and endless slew of negative reactions and relentless jabs.

"What's so cool about a stupid lab? Listening to that woman talk was putting me to sleep! Dx" read one.

"Great job 'spying' try actually finding something next time! Lol" read another.

"The whole raptor story was faked!!!! And here I thought you were genuine!!!!!1!! But really you're just a lying bitch. No one could have survived that! that picture that Kenji supposedly took was clearly shopped!!!! I'm going to tell everyone I know to unfollow!!!" a particularly hateful comment said making Brooklynn frown as all of their cruelty and disdain began weighing on her. But they just kept coming.

"wn r we gng2 c smthn ql? YS!"

"Lame!"

"W/C abut digging stupid fossils and rocks anyways? You fucking suck!"

"I didn't think it was possible but you actually make Jurassic World boring!"

"If I wanted to learn I'd be in school!"

"Who cares about shitty fossils let see some fucking dinosaurs already!!!!!"

"Oh sure you just so happened to be there when the thing hatched, it was either staged or CGI don't listen to Brooklynn people, she is a vain narcissistic slut who doesn't even respond to my DMs when I try telling her how beautiful she is, or open any of the very EXPENSIVE gifts I send her on her 'Unboxing the Love' fan appreciation videos! She's just a tease and a liar trying to trick guys like me into thinking she's an actual human being unlike all of the other fake plastic whores out there who won't even give real men a chance!" This one knotted the girl's stomach, she had long ago learned to block, report, and ban people like this but they always managed to come back. 

Comments like this always made her want to reply "Dude, I'm only sixteen!" but she knew from experience that would only make things worse.

Sparing only the briefest of thoughts to if he was the one who had sent her the _pics _recently she gave him the hammer. Still Brooklynn found herself dwelling on the skin crawling things he had said, and she wondered what exactly he had sent her. Normally her parents unyielding paranoia and overbearing protection would annoy the girl but she found herself extremely grateful for the P.O. box her moms had set up for her, and the meticulous way they opened, checked, and rewrapped each and every gift she was given by fans.__

__Leg bouncing with agitation as she scrolled through more and hurtful words thrown her way Brooklynn began to worry what this meant for her channel. She just didn't understand it, this was supposed to be the series of videos that defined her career. It was her big break, she was actually popular enough for some mega corporation to want her to review them, and nothing was going right! Nothing! She had a better following when she was at Mount Everest than she did now, and how many people climbed Mount Everest, huh? Thousands, probably!_ _

__"Brooklynn." the sound of her name being called pulled the teen out of her brooding. Scrambling, and momentarily tangled in the bedding Brooklynn finally managed to uncover her head and look with a confused glare at the intrusive Roxie who was smiling up at the girl as she sat on the top bunk. "What are you doing up so early?"_ _

__"Oh, you know, just testing the waters," she smiled waving her phone as she simultaneously hit the power button with her thumb shutting off the screen, blocking the commentary from veiw. "Speaking of, what are we doing today? My fans are dying to find out!"_ _

__"It's a surprise!" the woman shrugged._ _

__"Ugh, it's always a surprise!" Brooklynn groaned falling back into the bed. "Do you know how hard it is to build hype when everything is a mystery prize?"_ _

__"And here I thought mystery was the whole point of an unboxing." Roxie smiled. Brooklynn fixed her with a stare. "Come on, I'll let you do the honors." the counselor offered holding up the spoon and pan. With a mischievous grin the teen hurriedly climbed out of bed and snagged the implements of torture as she ran into the hall._ _

__"Wake up losers we're going shopping!" she yelled over the cacophony with a laugh as several heads shot straight up at the sound. "Mean Girls." was all the explanation she gave to the woman who looked at her in confusion._ _

__Sitting around the table groggy faced Roxie and the five campers who had shuffled into the dining room were all wearily staring at their breakfast options, which this morning apparently meant a very dense, carb heavy assortment of baked goods. Brooklynn stared over her coffee mug with disdain at the basket of muffins, the various danishes, scones, bagels, and loaf cakes. A pair of heavy looking quiche, and a plate sausages steaming off to one side._ _

__"I do plan on making a full english at some point," Roxie said through a yawn. "But when I was calling ahead to confirm our arrival time for the private tour I realized I could just have all of this brought to us from the park's central hotel and cheated."_ _

__"Cheat more!" Darius grinned loading his plate full of pastries and breads._ _

__Watching as everyone dug in greedily the pink haired girl whose thoughts were preoccupied with the opinions of others got up and retrieved an apple from the fridge. She really shouldn't let it bother her so much, she thought biting into the crisp green fruit, but it did. Chewing slowly and deliberately Brooklynn knew she was backsliding. It had taken her a long time to accept and admit that she was sick, and even longer to want help getting better. Now, every day was a fight against herself, a fight to let better Brooklynn stand triumphantly above her former self, and past mistakes._ _

__Just one small victory, she told herself, for tomorrow's Brooklynn. Steeling her nerves the girl set the apple aside and reassessed the spread on the table before her. Trying hard not to give into the nagging voice that stirred her anxieties and insecurity she reached for a blueberry muffin. Snapping the stump off she broke it apart into a dozen little pieces, picking up each piece and popping it into her mouth, one flavorful bite at a time. It didn't matter how long it took just so long and she ate, she thought._ _

__"You always eat like such a bird!" Sammy observed with a grin._ _

__"Yeah I guess I do!" Brooklynn laughed back, tossing a bit of muffin into the air and catching it like popcorn._ _

__"Oh is that a challenge?" Kenji asked with a flex as he stood. Throwing a scone towards the ceiling the boy caught it, crumbs flying out from between his teeth and he bit down on the flakey bread._ _

__"My turn, my turn!" Darius called standing as well. Ignoring the camp counselor who declared that whatever mess they made they were responsible for cleaning up, he tore off a hunk of banana bread and launched it to the heavens. There was only a mere fraction of a second where the boy's eyes went wide with success before his throat hitched in a laugh and he sent food and spit flying across the table in laugher._ _

__Chairs turning over as Brooklynn and the others screamed, quickly leaping away from the eruption of Mount Darius a fit of giggles overtaking the group, including Roxie who had lost her composure entirely. Looking up from where she stood, poised to flee should there be a second glutenous explosion the online influencer saw Yasmina walk in with a smile as she took in all the chaos around her._ _

__"Breakfast Yasmina? We have plenty, well, we did but now we have to quarantine half of it," Roxie said leaning over the table to hand the walking volcano a roll of paper towels. "I'm sure we can find you something."_ _

__And like that the athlete's smile was gone. "No, I had a shake pre-run." Eyes narrowed against the insufferable ice queen Brooklynn watched her leave, before a winded Dave stumbled in, a hand to his side._ _

__"Breakfast?" Roxie tried again._ _

__"Nah, breakfast shake, pre-run, sort of thing." he gasped, head hanging on his shoulders. "Oh, wait is that cheese danish?" the man's tune quickly changed when he looked up, eagerly Dave pulled up a seat._ _

__After breakfast and everyone was dressed the campers all loaded into the back of the car where Brooklynn set to work filming some establishing shots, and different angles of greenery to really capture the essence of the place. Taking a liking to the way a distant herd of brachiosaurus lined up parallel with the shrinking treehouse the girl smiled to herself as she pondered how to use those few frames of pure gold._ _

__It wasn't long however before the group found themselves on a maintenance road buzzing past several large concrete walls that acted as barriers between the public and staff, small breaks in them allowed the kids to see a tightly packed theme park teaming with crowds and bustling with a claustrophobia enducing energy._ _

__"We're actually in the main park!" Darius was saying, giddy as a school girl. "We're going to see real dinosaurs!"_ _

__"Yeah junior, that's what this whole things about." Kenji said with a fair amount of annoyance in his tone. "Or what, did you think you were at space camp?"_ _

__"You don't understand!" Darius argued, ruining Brooklynn's audio. With a sigh she stopped recording and turned back around in her seat, why she even tried with dino freak around beyond her, it never accomplished anything. "Do you think we'll get to see the T-Rex?"_ _

__Chosing to ignore the back and forth that broke out amongst the others Brooklynn took a moment to reply to some fanmail, stopping when her phone pinged with a message from her dad. He was heading to the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland and had been thinking about his little traveling companion, and hoping she was enjoying herself, he said. Smiling warmly the teen snapped a quick windblown selfie._ _

__"Having fun, thx for thinking of me, take lots of pics! Call later? What's the time diff? Luv you heaps! :-*" she tapped out before sending._ _

__"Time diff doesn't matter call your old man, and tell me all about what you've been up to, the videos don't cut it. Love you too sweetie! :)" he replied moments later._ _

__After what seemed like ages the group of teenagers that were quickly growing disgruntled finally caught site of their destination. A huge glass dome emerged through the foliage, the summet of which glared brightly in the sun like a beacon guiding their way. Looking through the rear glass window at the adults Brooklynn wanted to ensure that their attention was elsewhere before unbuckling her seatbelt and standing up in the bed of the truck to capture the positively cinematic vantage._ _

__"What are you doing?" Ben panicked in a shrill, nasally voice._ _

__Peering at the world through her phone screen the streamer couldn't see him, only the shot. Her heart leaped into her throat when something grabbed onto her leg until Sammy spoke, "I got you girl!"_ _

__"Me too!" Darius said, another pair of arms wrapping around her other leg._ _

__Focused on the lighting and angle Brooklynn was aware of the stability she had now, and muttered a distracted "Thanks."_ _

__Sitting back down just as Dave stuck his head out the passenger window to yell at her, the girl began reviewing the footage for later editing tonight. Still the man couldn't resist an authoritative holler. Ignoring him the girl tapped away on her cell._ _

__"That was very dangerous and irresponsible!" he scolded her leaping out if the Jeep before it had come to a complete stop. "What were you thinking?"_ _

__"I was thinking, 'damn that's an epic view, I'm sure the world would love to see it for themselves, it could really help sell the whole camp thing and I don't know keep you and Roxie employed.'" she grinned smugly, only paying him half mind._ _

__"Don't ever do anything like that again." he commanded, though the influencer who didn't entirely believe in or respect his authority over her rolled her eyes._ _

__"Fine." she agreed._ _

__A few minutes later and Roxie was standing before the group with a large award winning smile explaining what the day's activities would include. "This is 'The Bird Cage,'" she announced gesturing towards the vast dome. "Inside this biosphere we have carefully constructed the ideal habitats for our nine resident varieties of Pterosaur. From steaming primordial jungles, to a vast man made canyon in the north, and a miniature ocean kept stocked with fish you are in for a real treat!"_ _

__Brooklynn moved around behind the other campers, motioning and trying without success to get the woman to look at the camera. It was as she tried again that the pink haired girl noticed a sour face in the back of the shot, Dave was glaring directly into the camera with a parental look of disappointment. The girl gasped in shock, was he trying to ruin the shot? He was trying to ruin the shot!_ _

__"Can we run that again?" Brooklynn asked after Roxie had finished up her little introduction._ _

__"No, this isn't a movie, and we're not on set." the woman scoffed._ _

__Brooklynn was about to argue when she was nearly toppled over by an excitied Darius, "Brooklynn!" he said shaking her by the shoulder. "Take my picture in front of the Bird Cage!" Letting go the boy quickly ran a few paces away before turning around beaming. Staring at him with frustration the girl snapped the photo._ _

__As she did a tall black man in khakis walked up to the group arms out as if he intended to embrace them all at once. "Welcome to the dome!" he said in a warm, almost, but not quite French accent. "My name is Lawrence Ndiaye and I will be your guide, please follow me!"_ _

__Glaring at Darius for making her miss the introduction Brooklynn quickly turned the camera on herself, "Isn't this amazing Brooklanders?" she enthused walking backwards as she followed the group. "We are getting a private tour of The Bird Cage from Mr Lawrence Ndiaye! Say hi Mr. Ndiaye!"_ _

__"Hello!" the man called waving back over his shoulder._ _

__"Now, who's ready to see some flying dinos?" the girl asked quirking an eyebrow._ _

__"Pterosaurs are not actually dinosaurs," Ndiaye said turning to address everyone. "But are actually their own classification of animals, and here at the park we were lucky enough to recreate several distinct species of these magnificent flying reptiles for you to enjoy here today."_ _

__"You learn something new every day!" Brooklynn enthused into the camera._ _

__Following the man through what looked like a glass vault door the campers were struck immediately by a wall of hot humid air. Emerging on the other side the teens looked around in awe, finding themselves in a completely new world. Holding up her arm Brooklynn captured the droplets of moisture that collected almost instantly on the fine blonde hairs of her wrist. Turning the camera this way and that she filmed the lush jungle they trekked through on a narrow foot path._ _

__"Would you look at that!" Sammy gasped up ahead. Pushing past some ferns Brooklynn aimed to get right in on the drama, whatever it was, only to find a little plume of brightly colored butterflies fluttering lazily around a patch of bluish purple blossom._ _

__"Wow! They're so beautiful." Yasmina breathed taking in what Brooklynn considered to be the less than dramatic scene._ _

__Boring, the teen thought as a speedy dragonfly joined it's more highly decorated cousins. "It this a stupid butterfly garden?" Kenji sneered to the girl's left._ _

__"Of a sort." Ndiaye nodded._ _

__"Gay!" the oldest among them announced, tucking his hands into his pockets._ _

__Brooklynn who was inclined to agree was getting ready to lower her camera in disappointment when a fast moving object blurred past, the gust of wind left in it's wake the only movement to the otherwise still and oppressive air. The dragonfly was gone, a singular gossamer wing drifting slowly to the ground. A shadow past over the girl's face, then another, and another. Perplexed, and brow furrowed she looked up. That was when she saw them, a dozen or more winged lizards the smallest of which were no bigger than doves all soaring above her, their thin membrane wings made red by the sunlight that filtered through them. Quickly she turned her cell to the sky._ _

__"Oh my God!" Darius gushed spinning around in amazement. "Is that a, um, a D-den-" he stopped wracking his brain pitifully and coming up empty, something Brooklynn was more than happy to document._ _

__"Dendrorhynchoides," Ndiaye nodded. "Very good, these insectivores are among the world's smallest known Pterosaur, with a wingspan of only forty centimeters, or for you Americans sixteen inches! These brightly colored animals are arboreal meaning that they live in trees and get along well with their slightly larger relatives the jeholopterus who you might see in flight, or crawling across the branches of a tree if we are lucky."_ _

__"Brooklynn, take a picture of that one!" the dino freak demanded shaking the photographer by her sleeve. Pulling herself away from him Brooklynn glared, said nothing and continued to film. "Look his markings make it seem like he has eyes on his wings just like a moth!" the boy continued, still vying for her attention. "Come on just one picture look at him he's beautiful!"_ _

__"You are ruining my shot!" the pink haired girl finally snapped when Darius grabbed her by the arm and practically dragged her over to a nearby tree. There they saw the larger jeholopterus crawling down the trunk using it's strong toes, and claws that jutted out from the crest of its wings to grip the green rubbery bark. Using it's tail for balance as it hunted a large black beetle, the girl was struck with the impression of a miniature dragon, though it's short, wide face made it much less imposing than it's mythical kin._ _

__Alright, she conceded, this would make a good thumbnail, she thought digitally preserving the moment. "Go bother someone else."_ _

__The two had been left some ways behind as the tour moved on, though Dave and Roxie were sure to keep them in the line of sight. Darius stalled, scuffing his shoe on the packed earth of the trail. "I was just hoping that you could maybe-"_ _

__"You can see the video when I post it, just like everyone else." the girl cut him off. Thankfully knowing when he had lost the dinosaur enthusiast moved off towards the others where he joined Sammy and Ben who were asking a lot of questions about the pterosaurs, and ...hygiene._ _

__By the time the teens moved out of the smaller dome within the dome they were drenched with sweat and ambient moisture from the miniatured rainforest. Pulling at the front of her jacket and shirt where they clung to her chest the girl fanned herself with the fabric, craning her head high towards the actual ceiling. Snapping a pic as they moved on Brooklynn stepped up into the protective, covered walkway meant to defend tourist from the animals that, Mr. Ndiaye had just gotten through explaining, were highly territorial._ _

__"And don't forget," he grinned broadly. "This exhibit has been closed to the public for the rest of the day, so you can take all the time you need!"_ _

__"We should actually get going around two, two thirty-ish at the latest." Dave announced._ _

__"Yes, we'll take a break for lunch at a quarter to one, but we really must be going no later than two fifteen do you all understand me?" Roxie asked holding up the line. The group chorused their understanding as Dave excused himself, heading towards a small booth located just between the habitats. "Anyone else need the loo?" she sighed watching him jog away._ _

__The man reappeared moments later with a smile, and a camera that sported the Jurassic World logo. "Now I want you to share this with everyone else." he said loudly before handing the device to an appreciative Darius. "We can print out the photos before everyone goes home, alright?"_ _

__"Can I go back into the butterfly garden and take just a few pictures?" he asked practically leaping out of his skin._ _

__"Oh can I go too?" Sammy asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear when everyone turned to look at her. "I just ...wanted a closer look at the little critters is all." she said with embarrassment._ _

__"You've got five minutes, and if you're not back here I'm getting you each a tether, and Dave will be taking back the camera he did not have to buy." Roxie said warningly. Agreeing the two rushed back into the jungle to explore._ _

__"What nerds!" Kenji sighed with exasperation, sitting down on a rock nearby._ _

__"Right." Yasmina concurred leaning against the railing beside him._ _

__When the two of them returned moments later the tour moved on through branching walkways some which were no more than covered footpaths others opened into wide observation decks with benches, snack vendors, photo booths, and screens playing informative videos on loop. At a particularly large stop there was even a carousel._ _

__As they ambled up a gentle ramp, the glass bottom of which lost all of its charm not long after filming a what Ndiaye called a Geosternbergia in flight beneath her converse, Brooklynn began to stew. There was too much learning involved, she thought, and if she was bored in the moment she was worried about what her viewers would say. What she needed was some action, the influencer thought glancing up from her screen to familiarize herself with her surroundings. Everyone else had gotten ahead of her when she slowed her pace unable to edit and walk at the same time. Their guide was explaining to them the various diets of the animals that lived just outside, explaining patiently to an aghast Kenji that piscivore meant "fish eater" and not the other thing._ _

__It was as she looked about herself that Brooklynn spotted a little dimorphodon coming to roost in the tree beside her. To the streamer the animal appeared like it was something concocted by a mad scientist, with a minute T-Rex looking head attached to a pterodactyl's body. They had all been assured however that these animal were genuine to the fossil record, despite how hideous they might seem._ _

__Realizing what a prime opportunity was presenting itself Brooklynn picked up a strick that had broken off between the metal grating. Checking over her shoulder to be sure no one was watching she raised her phone and began filming. I'll just edit this part out, she thought lining the twig up with an opening. Trying to be fast enough to get away with it the teen jammed the stick through the bars and into the animal. It's response was instantaneous. With a shrill screech it turned, sharp teeth clamping down on the twig and ripping it from her hand before snapping it in two._ _

__This is fantastic she thought as the enraged creature bit and clawed angrily at its assailant, wings blowing gusts of wind through the girl's hair as she documented this intense and up close look at-_ _

__"Brooklynn Meyers-Tillman!" Roxie's voice cut clean through the girl's train of thought, a firm hand on her wrist turning her to look the enraged woman in the eye. "Did you just do what I think you just did?"_ _

__Heart hammering the teenager considered lying, with a grin she was about to go for it when she caught a glace at the animal moving away from where it had been napping. There was blood on the leaves, even the protective cage in which she stood bore the damning evidence of her crime. She hadn't meant to actually hurt the stupid thing, she thought, she just didn't realize how fragile their wings were. As she watched it hobble away with that awkward gate they all seemed to have, and nurse it's wound she realized that the small animal was actually kinda ugly-cute, like Skittles._ _

__Eyes welling with tears "I'm sorry." was all she could muster._ _

__Pulling her away from the group Roxie railed, red in the face at Brooklynn about the inheriant innocent of wildlife, the damage she could have caused the poor thing, and the unnecessary cruelty she had put out in the world while the others investigated what happened. When she had finished the pair made their way back to everyone else and they moved on._ _

__Ndiaye explained the habitat and behavior of the final animal on the tour, the gentle giant that was quetzalcoatlus. Brooklynn scarcely heard a word of what he said head hanging low, arms folded she was overwhelmed with a tremendous sense of guilt and shame. And why? For her stupid followers, was it really worth it? The girl asked herself. Maybe Nika was right, and she was doing too much her fans, and losing too big a part of herself in the process. Her phone vibrated then, and try as she might she couldn't restrain herself from retrieving it from her pocket eagerly browsing her updates._ _

__After a while they walked through a pathway that ran along the side of the canyon, which was beautifully layered with color and difficult to believe that it had been created rather than occuring naturally. Peering over the edge they could see the giant pterosaur they had just learned about soaring in a dry up gust of wind on huge black and purple striped wings. Continuing on they eventually found themselves in a large empty cafeteria. Recording Ndiaye's good-byes Brooklynn startled when Darius gasped, the sound echoing loudly on the walls._ _

__"A gift shop!" he practically shouted leaving everyone in his dust. "Can we go in?" he asked turning back, one hand already on the door._ _

__"Sure." the counselors shrugged almost in unison._ _

__The boy's smile faulted slightly when he looked at the five other campers approaching the store at a stroll. Brooklynn watched with confusion as he started muttering to himself, tapping the fingers of his right hand against his thumb. "I was given a five hundred dollar allowance with the free trip to Jurassic World, if you guys find something you really like I can totally get it for you because that makes ...eighty dollars a person!" he beamed generously before rushing in, only to find that a miniature plush cost was whopping twenty-five dollars. "The offer still stands." he assured the others though he seemed to be regretting the decision somewhat._ _

__Maybe he wasn't so bad after all, Brooklynn thought, a little annoying sure but. "It's cool, I got gold." she said showing him her credit card._ _

__Scoffing Kenji pushed past the two of them. "Step aside amateurs, I've got Amex Black." he boasted flashing a black credit card with a gold centurion on it. "Go hog wild," he instructed leaning against a counter with superiority. "You too junior."_ _

__After a brief shopping spree they were ushered away with the promise of lunch. Expecting brown bags, or even something from the cafeteria they were all surprised when Dave and Roxie led them on, through a staff hallway, and up a flight of stairs. Emerging from the behind the scenes route they had taken the kids found themselves walking beneath a sign in cursive that read "Canyon Convivial," and into a fancy restaurant with lit candles, and cloth napkins. The decor was in a simple, yet elegant style in hues that complemented those of the canyon into which it had been carved the girl noticed as they were led through the otherwise empty dining area to a large table on a glass bottomed balcony._ _

__"It's part of the camp package." Dave assured the kids who were captivated with their surroundings, when the waiter appeared with menus._ _

__"At least for now," Roxie piped up. "Mr. Masrani wants every child to feel like royalty at least once, but I'm not sure how he intends to arrange this kind of five star treatment for every group of kids every year."_ _

__"There's enough seating," Dave thought aloud. "Just close to the public for a day and split the campers into three groups, breakfast, lunch, and dinner."_ _

__"A hundred and twenty bucks for pasta and sea bugs?" Sammy interrupted, gawking as she pointed to the lobster pappardelle._ _

__"Try one-sixty for a burger!" Yasmina added._ _

__"Please," Kenji laughed. "I've spent more on a toothbrush." After his previous display of affluence no one dared doubt him, the plastic gift shop bags crinkling under the table when someone shifted in their seat._ _

__Still preturbed with self loathing for what she'd done Brooklynn found herself more concerned with a different set of numbers displayed on the crisp paper, the calories listed in fine print beneath each meal. In the end she just ordered a salad throwing all victories for the day aside, screw future Brooklynn, she didn't deserve it._ _

__It wasn't until their meals arrived that the teen realized what a photo opportunity this was until she got a look at Ben's colorful Mediterranean vegetable platter. "Hold it!" she said energetically pulling out her favorite device. "Nobody eat anything, I need pics!"_ _

__Yasmina who was sitting at the other end of the table groaned, rolling her eyes and grabbed a slice of her fancy looking margherita pizza. Annoyed at her continual lack of participation Brooklynn turned the camera on her and took a picture right as she took a hearty bite._ _

__"Oh, that's a good one!" Brooklynn said turning the phone so she could see._ _

__"I told you before that I didn't want you taking my picture!" the other girl bellowed after choking down her food._ _

__"And all I wanted was a picture of your plate, not you." Brooklynn hummed. "So now I'm going to make this go viral Yasmina the pizza pig! And you know why, because you're a fridged bitch."_ _

__"Yeah? Well you're just an attention seeking syphilitic twat!" Yasmina shouted in response before anyone could try to reign the situation in. Scrapped her chair loudly against the floor Yasmina stormed away from the table._ _

__"I'll go talk to her," Dave said after the collective state of utter shock and disbelief wore off. "We have a sort of 'jogging bros' type thing going on."_ _

__"I'm sorry she said that." a conflicted looking Ben said softly._ _

__"Yeah me too, are you alright?" Sammy asked reaching out to touch her hand._ _

__"I'm fine." Brooklynn frowned moving around the table documenting their meals._ _

__"Yeah but you gotta amid that was one sick burn!" Kenji chortled._ _

__"Whatever!" the videographer snapped returning to her seat._ _

"You aren't entirely free of blame yourself, young lady." Roxie reminded her. "We're going to have a long talk tonight."

__Lunch was had in an uncomfortable silence until to everyone's surprise the enormous quetzalcoatlus which they could now see towered above them at the same height as a giraffe, perched on a ledge beside the diners. After that a murmur of excitement ran through everyone that broke the tension. Brooklynn enjoyed herself even more after Dave and Yasmina elected to sit at their own table, to talk about the best way to lace your running shoes no doubt. Afterwards everyone just sat digesting for a long while until the couselors roused everyone from their decadent food comas to head back to the Jeep._ _

__"Well that was fun, wasn't it?" Dave asked clapping his hands together as everyone buckled in. "Time to head back to the treehouse right? Wrong! You forgot this isn't just any old summer camp this is Camp Cretaceous, the greatest adventure camp on earth!" he said trying to get the kids fired up. "And what's so adventurous about a tour? Nothing! So, you've seen them, you've learned about them, now who's ready to fly like a pterosaur?"_ _

__The kids looked at one another, a spectrum of expressions. "We're going to fly?" Darius asked._ _

__"That's right!" Dave grinned. "I suggest suiting you all up in wingsuits and throwing you over the edge of the canyon, but I guess that was deemed too much of a liability so we're going to be the first ones to test out the Camp Cretaceous exclusive wind tunnel for a little indoor sky diving! Bwa, bwa, bwa, bwaaa!" he hyped._ _

__"Oh my God I'm so excited!" Sammy bounced in her seat._ _

__"Me too!" Brooklynn agreed feeling a rush of energy wiping away all traces of afternoon drowsies._ _

__A short drive, and a brief safety demonstration, and they were good to go, Kenji naturally insisting on being first entered the tunnel with a dramatic flare, one that was quickly stripped from him as one misplaced limb sent him spiralling upwards, screaming all the while. After him Darius who was nothing but smiles from beginning to end went, before Brooklynn stepped up to plate._ _

__"You're sure you don't mind filming?" she asked handing Sammy her phone._ _

__"Are you kidding me?" the girl gushed. "I'm the luckiest Brooklander on the planet, of course I'll film!"_ _

__Heart racing Brooklynn toed the line for a minute the flying instructor motioning for her to enter the tunnel. Arms crossed like a mummy it felt counter intuitive to just let yourself fall flat on your face, but when in Rome she thought. The roar of the wind rushing past her helmet was deafening, and now she understood the need for the hand signals they had learned in the introductory film. Feeling like she was falling, yet also somehow laying on a flat surface as the cushion of air held her aloft the girl couldn't help but smile._ _

__Looking at Sammy as she filmed Brooklynn shot her arm out instinctively to give a thumbs up. Almost instantly she had put herself into a spin. Laughing with a side burning fanaticism when she finally remembered to keep her arms out at an even length, Brooklynn managed to stop herelf from pinwheeling out of control. Eyes plastered shut as she giggled the world tilted and wavered with a sea like motion._ _

__Once the vertigo had passed the girl set out testing her skill, right arm down, turn right, left arm down turn left. She thought, experimenting with the drag of the wind, remembering how she used to stick her hand out the car window until her fingers were numb and frozen as a kid, 'cutting' the air on long road trips. Next she cautiously tested out her leg positions, feet together go forward, feet pulled back, arms out to go down. After familiarizing herself with the method Brooklynn was ready for some fun._ _

__Moving wobbly through the air the pink haired girl managed to do a loop around the tunnel. Going again this time faster, she actually felt as though she were flying. Confidence building Brooklynn went into a rapid spin before coming to a halt, feet snapping together her took off like a superhero. Miscalculating how far she should let her shoulder dip she turned harder than expected, and instead of turning gracefully away from the curving wall she slammed into it, just further down._ _

__A sharp jolt of pain shot through Brooklynn's stomach where it and the plastic of her MIC-KEY button struck the glass, knocking all of the air from her lungs. Indicating that she needed help the girl allowed the instructor to guide her out of the tunnel._ _

__"Brooklynn are you alright?" Roxie wanted to know._ _

__"Yeah, I'm fine." she lied, trying hard not to clutch her gut or double over._ _

__"Are you sure, you took that hit pretty hard?" Sammy asked handing her the phone back._ _

__"Yeah, no, I'm good, promise!" she nodded before adding. "I'm going to run to the bathroom I'll be right back."_ _

__Standing in the stall, flight suit unzipped, and shirt pulled up Brooklynn assessed the damage. It was going to bruise, that was certain she thought prodding her abdomen and ribs. Then grabbing the port of the tube between her fingers she gave it a quarter turn, trying to tell if it had been knocked out of place, or the internal balloon had ruptured. Everything felt sore, but sound. She winced at the burning sensation of stomach acid and enzymes leaking out between plastic a skin. God damnit, she thought, this was exactly the sort of thing she had been worried about! She'd been able to maintain weight without a feeding pump for four months, why her doctor wouldn't just remove the tube already was beyond her._ _

__Well, she thought using some tissue to dab at the clear liquid that seeped out, maybe this was some sort of karma for what she did to that dimorphodon, it would serve her right. Smirking as she got dressed again she couldn't wait to see what karma had in store for Yasmina after lunch today. Washing her hands she exited the bathroom, Brooklynn found a comfortable spot on the floor next to the king of all wet blankets, who had, of course had a book in his back pocket the whole time._ _

__"Are you alright?" Ben asked._ _

__"Didn't think you could see anything with your head in that book." the girl laughed. Ben shrugged. "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for asking." she said settling in beside him. Taking out her phone Brooklynn started carefully editing together her next vid._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long to get out, things have been a little crazy someone walked out at work and I've had to pick up a lot of overtime lately.
> 
> There is a ton of debate over what Pterosaurs actually ate. Throughout paleontological discovery they've been most commonly portrayed as piscivores and for their smaller representatives insectivores. It is very highly debated over still to this day with some theorising carnivorous diets preying on small replies, and early mammals, while some say skimming/filter feeding was possible, and yet others argue that a fair amount of Pterosaurs were frugivorous or fruit eaters like the flying fox! 
> 
> Because of the creative liberties I get to take writing this I chose to make the quetzalcoatlus a skim/frugivore because I like the idea of something so huge and intimidating being just all gentle and nice! :)
> 
> Also because I don't have social media I just wanted to say some place that I'm really happy for Elliot Page!!! I'm so happy for you Elliot!!!! <3
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading, please don't be too mad at any of the moody teens in this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it! :)


	10. Nocturnal

-CC Day Eleven-

Sitting in the middle of the auditorium, her feet propped up on the seat in front of her Yasmina bit down on the head of a sour gummy worm and stretched it until it snapped satisfyingly in half. Her mouth puckered delightfully at the grainy citric acid coating, but it was soon gone leaving only the sweet chewy candy behind. With a bowl of popcorn to her right the teen was enjoying the movie to the fullest. Tim Burton was a God, she thought watching the beloved green haired bio-exorcist wrecking havoc on the Deetzes and their guests, and this was one of his greatest films.

A loud ruckus broke out near the front of the theater, popcorn and chips flying through the air as some of the other campers messed with one another laughing hysterically about something. 

"That's enough." Roxie called from the back when Darius turned an empty popcorn bucket over Kenji's head like a dunce hat and the primadonna began complaining about his hair.

It looked like so much fun, Yasmina thought enviously. No one had really spoken to her since her outburst at Canyon Convivial, the incident forever shrouded in whispers and back biting rumors. And that was fine, she thought denying just how badly it hurt. She'd been trying to keep them at arm's length since arriving here, now if they were going to do the avoiding for themselves it was all the better because it saved her a lot of time and hassle. Besides, she'd rather be hated for something she did than for who she was.

Trying her best to ignore them she settled back into a more comfortable position, but she couldn't fight nagging feeling of loneliness. Everyone turned against her eventually, she reminded herself, childhood friends growing into hateful bigots in what felt like the blink of an eye. It was much better to burn than to be burned, and what was the point in being friends with someone when you couldn't be authentic with them anyways? No, she just had to stick to the plan: make it to the olympics, win, survive her last year of highschool, get a job, move out, come out, learn to live without her family who she knew would never accept her, maybe go to college, and make friends and a family of her own then. 

Yeah, that would work, she thought, blinking hard against tears. I'm not really sad, she lied to herself, it's just sleep deprivation. Turning around to stare at the couselors it all felt like some cruel joke.

Roxie was munching away on something, grinning like a cheshire cat while Dave sat beside her armed with an ice water filled squirt gun, spritzing them all like ill behaved cats if anyone started to doze off. Seeing Yasmina looking back the man smiled at her, giving a brief salute with his weapon. He was actually the closest thing to a friend she'd made at Camp Cretaceous, and that was only because for the sake of adult supervision Dave nearly killed himself each morning just trying to keep sight of the girl on her runs. He was nice, and kinda funny in a bad dad joke sort of way, and he seemed to really want to help her have a fun stay at the camp, not blaming her one way or the other for how things shook out.

"Ben, Brooklynn, do I see some naughty nodders?" he called taking aim. Slouching down in her seat a smirking Yasmina did her best not to obscure his line of fire. "It's not even two o'clock yet, come on guys you know the deal party all night tonight, sleep all day tomorrow and then nocturnal mayhem out in the park tomorrow! Can I get a whoop whoop?"

"Whoop, whoop!" Yasmina called out with the others who were awake enough to realize the danger they were in.

"I said 'can I get a whoop, whoop?'" the man repeated.

When Brooklynn and Ben failed to respond two jets of water rapid fired flew over the vacant seats that sperated the couselors from their charges and hit them each in the back of the head making them shoot up in shock and surprise. The other campers laughed at the spectacle, shoving and jostling the victims with good natured teasing.

"I think you should get Ben again!" Darius called out turning to look back at them as the other boy argued and begged him to hold his tongue. "He totally fell asleep during Jumanji and was literally propped up like a scarecrow right now!"

"Silence!" Dave called with an authoritarian tone, spraying Darius in the face. "I am the law here! Only I can decide when an where to deliver the judgement of the most glorious and grossly incandescent father on high! Praise the Sun!"

"Praise the Sun!" Kenji and Sammy called back throwing their hands into the air like a couple of geeks.

"Praise the Sun." Yasmina murmured with a half smile to herself, listening to Roxie badger the man about enjoying himself too much and being such a weirdo as he tried to explain the significance of the reference.

When they were finally allowed to go to bed Yasmina was worried about having trouble falling asleep after all the sugar and excitement. To the contrary however, the teen slept like a rock.

Skull feeling thick, and lined with cotton Yasmina woke to a band of sharp while light cutting across her face, sunlight streaming in violently from a gap in the curtains. Groaning as she tried to block it out with the blankets a dull pounding filled her head, and her found herself unable to determine if it was from an over abundance of sleep, or not quite enough. After a while she became restless, her legs antsy and jittery. She had to get up and she had to get moving. Getting out of bed the girl grabbed some clothes band crept to the bathroom.

After getting dressed and splashing some water on her face, the teen felt more refreshed. Pulling her hair tightly back she was ready to go when she paused looking herself over with scrutiny. She looked a little dull, and flat, Yasmina thought pulling at the corners of her eyes. Grabbing her makeup bag from the shelf she had been keeping it on the girl gave herself a quick smokey eye with a touch of mascara, and glossed her lips. Whoever said you couldn't be sporty and elegant? The teen wondered feeling more like herself. Winking as she blew her reflection an, I'm hot and I know it kiss Yasmina scooped up her earbuds, and tiptoed out the front door shoes in hand.

If I stick to the usual trail I'll be fine and if they wake up and notice I'm gone Dave will know right where to look. Yasmina reasoned lacing up her shoes. Jogging at an even pace each footfall brought the girl more clarity and peace of mind. This was exactly what she needed, she thought taking in a breath of fresh air as all the sluggish weight of sleep and paradoxically exhaustion rolled off of her, like water off a duck's back. Heart pounding with the exuberant feeling of being alive she quickly lost herself to the music.

By the time Yasmina got back to the treehouse her body was tingling with spent energy, yet somehow had found a hidden stash of adrenaline and endorphins and the girl felt like she was ready to take on the world. Walking inside she took off her shoes and headed towards the kitchen for some water. She was halfway there when she was hit with a tomatoey, spicy aroma, she wondered what the counselors were making this time. Rounding the corner however, she found neither Roxie, nor Dave, but Sammy standing next to a deep soup pan, stirring its contents carefully, while a second larger pot bubbled energetically on the back burner.

The cowgirl startled when she turned as saw Yasmina, eyes wide hand flying to cover her heart. "Yasmina!" she smiled moving from pan to cutting board where she diced another tomato. "You sure did get me girl, a little bit of a warning next time I nearly had a heart attack!" she laughed.

"What are you doing?" Yasmina asked looking her up and down.

"Well," Sammy started carrying the cutting board and it's juicy contents over the pot and scraping them in. "I'm usually an early bird myself, and when I got up well, there wasn't much else to do- well that's not exactly true I called my Mama and Daddy. They're a bit worried about me, and I talked to my sissies and my Abuela sh-"

"Why are your parents worried about you?" Yasmina cut the other girl off tersely, arms folded as she leaned against a counter.

"Oh!" Sammy smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked caught off guard as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Well you know, this is the furthest away from home I've ever been, not to mention the longest I've ever been gone for, and psh, dinosaurs right?" she rambled, distracting herself with cooking as she spoke. "Anyway I'm sure your folks are worried too."

Not in the way you might think, Yasmina thought bitterly. She had received an endless slew of angry texts and phonecalls from her parents after Brooklynn, who they only started following just to keep tabs on their daughter posted their arrival video, and Yasmina's scantily uncovered hair by proxy. "Yeah, I guess they are." she agreed. "But none of that explains what you're doing."

"Oh, well, duh!" Sammy laughed at her own expense. "Since I was already awake and Dave and Roxie were up all night too I figured I'd give them a break from cooking and make some of my mom's world famous chili." Yasmina rolled her eyes. "Or it will be world famous once y'all taste it," the cook said sassily waving the spoon at her, having caught the momentary expression. "Right now it's just Texas famous. Want to help?"

The tempting thought crossed Yasmina's mind briefly before she gave her answer. "No." she said grabbing a bag of chips from the table before turning on her heel and walking out.

Falling into a couch the athlete savored the salty goodness that was her pilfered potato chips while staring at the ceiling trying hard to ignore the occasional clatter that came from the kitchen. Closing her eyes after a while it seemed for a moment as though she would doze off, until she heard Sammy humming to herself in the other room. Curiosity piqued, it would seem her efforts to relax would have to wait as Yasmina, trying to be stealthy snuck a glance over the back of the sofa. 

Dancing a quick two step as she hummed the cowgirl opening a nearby drawer, and took a utensil from it before swinging her hip against the wood to close it again. Hurriedly diving back into the cushions when the other girl gave a twirl Yasmina couldn't help but smile to herself, heart fluttering. She was seriously cute, the teen thought a blush rising in her cheeks. Staying in that position, a hand pressed to her heart Yasmina played dead as she listened to her fellow camper work hard in her labor of love for the rest of them.

It wasn't long however, before she heard Sammy leave and head towards the bathroom. Unable to contain herself with wonder as to what made this chili so special, and wanting to get to know Sammy better, even if she denied it Yasmina vaulted over the back of the furniture and bolted into the kitchen at lightning speed. One taste, in and out, she told herself giving the tomato base a stir while the beans boiled separately. Ladling up a spoonful the teen blew on it before moving it towards her mouth, only to stop. What the hell is all that green and yellow crap? She wondered glaring at food. Turning the spoon this way and that she couldn't quite make heads or tails of the mystery ingredient that was beginning to break down.

"It's zucchini." Sammy said coming up behind Yasmina who jumped dropped the spoon on the floor.

"Holy shit, I thought you were a cowgirl not a freaking ninja!" Yasmina grumbled irritably.

"Got ya!" Sammy giggled wrinkled her nose playfully in a way that made Yasmina's stomach do a summersault. "It was the only way mama could my sisters and me to eat veggies, was to sneak them in somewhere and chili was always zucchini, now I just like the way it tastes." she explained.

Tossing the spoon into the sink Yasmina assumed her signature look of generalized annoyance and disinterest before heading back out. "So what did you think, too much salt, or not enough, it's such a fine line between the two and you can screw it up so easily."

"I didn't actually taste it yet." Yasmina muttered under her breath.

"Well get over here then!" Sammy said looping her arm around Yasmina like they were best friends and pulling her over to the stove, handing her a spoon.

With a sigh the shorter of the two tried the simmering concoction, "Yep, that's chili pre-beans alright."

"I was thinking of adding more body to it," Sammy said standing back at the cutting board. "Like extra onions, and garlic, mushrooms, maybe some soy sauce and smoke flavor if we have any-"

"Mushrooms? Soy sauce?" Yasmina grimaced.

"I don't know," the other girl said turning on her with a touch of attitude. "I'm not adding any meat to it and Google said those were good ways to bring up the flavor. That poor Ben, I think I'm gonna be sick if I have to watch him eat one more peanut butter and jelly, or frozen veggie burger. Yuck, I mean how does he even live without meat, and cheese!" she gushed turning to Yasmina aghast. "Can you imagine living without cheese? I think I'd die!"

"Are you always like this?" Yasmina said folding her arms, a physical indication that she raising her emotional shields.

"Like what?"

"Like," Yasmina motioned broadly to Sammy head to tone with a repulsed expression. "This!"

"Every day of the year except for the first of Octember then yeash watch out!" Sammy winked, fracturing Yasmina's armor a little bit. 

Grabbing Sammy's arm when she was about to dump a cutting board of diced onion and minced garlic into the pot Yasmina snapped, "What are you doing? Aren't you going to at least sweat them first, I mean sauteed is best but just dumping them in raw?"

"My mama never does, she says if you can't handle it get out of her kitchen, but really I think it's just because she never has the time." Sammy admitted lowering the wooden the board.

"Well that's just stupid!" Yasmina scoffed searching of a frying pan. "Garlic and onion don't have to be super sharp and bitter all the time. They can actually be really sweet if you treat them right." she criticized reaching for the oil as she stood back up.

"So kinda like you huh?"

"You know what forget it, I was just trying to help!" Yasmina shouted throwing the pan across the range.

"No, wait, I'm sorry!" Sammy called after her as Yasmina stormed out of the kitchen. 

Shoving her earbuds violently into her ears the runner tuned her out. Going back to the girls' room Yasmina climbed up into her bunk and laid there trying her hardest not to cry. She was angry, angry at Sammy for being so friendly and good all the time, angry that Sammy had even tried to reach out, angry that she treated her no differently than she treated the others. But more so Yasmina was angry at herself for being too afraid to let her guard down, angry at herself for hurting someone who was just trying to be kind, angry at herself for being so scared all the time. 

Covering her eyes with her arm Yasmina let a few sullen, and remorseful tears slip out.

She stayed in her bed long after everyone else was up and moving until Roxie came to get her for dinner. Everyone was sure to thank Sammy who waved off their gratitude like it was no big deal, though to Yasmina she seemed a little less bubble gum and cotton candy than usual. Taking a bite, Yasmina's gaze snapped up to look at the chef, there was a savory sweetness to the chili that could only come from caramelized onion. She regretted not staying to help her cook, and felt guilty that Sammy had followed through with her diva-esque demands even after she'd treated her like crap for trying to play.

"It's really good." Yasmina muttered into her bowl.

"Thanks." Sammy smiled.

"I call dibs on the left overs." Ben announced an awkward blend of hopeful and nervousness as though he expected some type of back lash. "For variety."

"You can have a much as you'd like," Roxie intoned with a smile. "Infact Sammy here has given me the marvelous idea of making one large meal that we can all share every couple of days so that you can enjoy too. I'll begin looking up recipes right away!"

"What?" came a chorus from the omnivorous males at the table, the loudest of whom was Dave. Yasmina grinned at the dirty look he received, before he quickly though unemphatically agreed.

After dinner everyone who wasn't already wearing one, as Brooklynn forever seemed to be, put on a jacket or hoodie and piled into the Jeep.

"Where do you think we're going?" Darius asked whipping his head around trying to take it all in, like it wasn't the same jungle now that it was dark out.

"Since we're heading West somewhere lame, probably." Kenji said leaning back over the side of the tuck bed. "What?" he asked when he realized everyone was staring at him. "I've been to Jurassic World a million times! I keep telling you guys this and yet you never believe me, my dad is a huge investor, in fact he might have almost as much stock as Masrani does now."

"What is he trying to do buy Masrani out?" Brooklynn asked skeptically. 

Kenji shrugged, "Listen I know as much about my dad as he knows about me, zip."

"He, he can't do that though!" Darius argued after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "Mr. Masrani rebuilt this place, he saved the dinosaurs, the Costa Rican government was getting ready to fire bomb the whole island because they were worried the dinosaurs would escape somehow when he took over and-"

"Wow," Kenji cut him off. "And here I thought you couldn't get nerdier or more boring. Who cares?"

"I didn't know that." Brooklynn said turning to the boy in yellow.

"Yeah," Darius nodded. "It's actually pretty cool."

"Hmmm, maybe you can explain it to me sometime I'm sure my veiwers would be interested." the pink haired girl smiled in the growing darkness. "Brooklynn unboxes the truth about the Masrani Global take over of InGen and how it may have saved dinosaurs as we know it!" she said in her best trailer announcer voice.

"Wherever we're going I hope they have good lighting, I can hardly see a thing." Ben whined hugging himself. "Or preferably indoors."

"Oh, maybe where gonna got see that big swimming dino thing!" Sammy put in excitedly.

"Mosasaurus!" Darius shouted with glee.

"Yeah! The state aquarium back home has nights at the aquarium and it's so cool and dreamy feeling the animals are mostly all active still because they're all fishes, it's super relaxing!" the native Texan explained.

Sitting quietly Yasmina listened to everyone talking staring at the headlights on the road ahead.

They soon arrived at what looked like a long chain link tunnel that stretched out into darkness. Swinging a backpack over his shoulder Dave walked to the head of the group with his hands on his hips. "Well are you guys ready to go, or what?" he asked the kids who seemed unsure of their surroundings.

"I got this." Brooklynn said confidently switching her cellphone's camera to night vision. Immediately the screen flickered before the depth of distant ferns and plants began to pull away from the matte black of the jungle at night.

"I'll be filming for a while, thank you." Roxie said snatching the device away.

"Hey!" Brooklynn argued.

"And without any further ado," Dave said opening the door to the ominous tunnel and motioning for the campers to file in.

"So this is where you hide the bodies." Yasmina smiled at the man as she walked past him.

"No, no," Dave corrected her. "This is where I hide my victims before I need a place to hide the bodies, duh!"

"Oh haha!" the girl rolled her eyes.

The group continued on in the dark until Darius crashed into another chain link fence that rattled loudly. "Are we in a cage?" he asked turning to look at the shadowy figures behind him.

"It's more of an enclosed walkway," Roxie said coming up to them and unlocking what was actually a door that he had run into. "There we are, after you kids."

"What are we supposed to do?" Darius asked hesitating.

"Just keep walking, we're right behind you." Dave instructed, giving him a gentle push on the back.

Trailing behind the others Yasmina listened to them talk with a nervous excitement to one another as they tiptoed forward in the dark. "You're all a bunch of babies!" Kenji called, barely visible as he blazed a trail of his own well ahead of the group. There was a sudden rustle of branches followed by an "Ow!" as he walked into a tree branch and fell backwards. Everyone laughed at Kenji's failed bravado.

"So what exactly are we doing out here and why can't I have my phone?" Brooklynn asked loudly.

"You'll see." was the only answer Dave seemed inclined to give.

"Ben, I wouldn't keep running my hand along that fence if I were you." Roxie called out then.

With a little shriek Yasmina could just make out the silhouette of the boy as he pulled away from what he had been using to guide him in the dark. "What is it?" he yelled, voice cracking hard. "What is it?"

"Whoa, Ben, you're shaking like a leaf!" Sammy said then as they collided. "It's alright, here you can hold my hand." Yasmina watched as Sammy turned around pawing behind her in the dark. "Come on Yaz, I'm sorry about earlier," she said. "Now come make a Samwich, you know you want to, I'm already holding Ben's hand!"

Keeping quiet Yasmina folded her arms eyes on her feet until the other girl quietly gave up. It was then that she saw the large figure of Kenji sneaking back around the group. Coming up behind Ben he grabbed him by the waist with hands held like claws giving a bellowing roar. Ben screamed clawing and clamouring at Sammy who yelled at the older boy.

"God dang it Kenji! Ow, Ben ow! You're gonna break my fingers!"

"I'm done!" Ben sobbed. "I'm done and I want to go home!"

Realizing that he was actually crying Yasmina felt bad for laughing moments ago and quickened her pace. "Hey," she said announcing herself. "How about we make a Benwich instead? You ok?" she asked after the boy grabbed onto her with a trembling vice like grip.

"No I'm not!" he said.

"Kenji that was really uncalled for." Darius said picking his way back towards the trio.

"Yeah, major dick move." Brooklynn agreed.

"Oh my God it was a joke!" Kenji moaned. "The kids too sensitive!"

"Nah," Dave shook his head coming up to them and opening his backpack. "Brooklynn's right total dick move."

"We're sorry Ben, everybody, we thought building the suspense a little bit would make the big moment a little more special." Roxie added.

"What big moment?" Darius asked.

"Here." Dave said handing out awkward, slightly bulky devices with adjustable three point straps to them. "They slide over your head like a baseball cap."

Fiddling with the straps of a second or two Yasmina finally got the stupid thing to fit, cold plastic and rubber cupping the area around her eyes snuggly. "Now what?" she asked.

"Hit the button on the right."

The world flickered for a moment before illuminating entirely in a pallet of green. These were night vision goggles! Yasmina thought excitedly as the world came into focus around her. She saw the other campers looking around in awe as they turned their own goggles on, until Ben cried out in terror moving further away from Yasmina, and the fence he'd been trailing.

Turning to see what he was looking at Yaz jumped back too as she saw several pairs of large glowing eyes belonging waist high dinosaurs that gripped the thick links with long digits, and whose heads bobbed and weaved over one another to get a better look at the campers. Breaking their previous silence the creatures chattered quietly to one another as they seemed to realize that they could now be seen. One broke away from the pack bobbing it's head with an exaggerated motion as it walked away from the others. When the kids turned tracking it the animal gave an enraged hiss before leaping onto the grating biting it with dozens of tiny serrated teeth. It's siblings echoed the angry vocalizations before dispersing into their enclosure where they could no longer be seen.

"Were those Troodon?" Darius gasped jumping up and down like he'd lost his mind. Meanwhile Yasmina and the other campers were trying to reign in their anxiety, hearts racing the unreal sensation of just how intelligent that encounter had been.

"Yep freshly cooked in the lab!" Dave enthused. "Welcome to the Nocturnal Loop, its an area of the park not yet open to the public, you're the first guests ever to venture inside!"

"So they really are nocturnal, there was so much debate over whether they were active at night or simply needed superior eyesight for tracking smaller prey!" the nerd rambled. "Are they entirely carnivorous or are they omnivorous?" 

"Well," Roxie said as she handed Brooklynn's cellphone back to her. "They are technically omnivorous and will eat thick vegetation and tubers, but they seem to prefer meat and enjoy hunting both for food and seemingly as a game similar to," the woman paused trying to make an accurate comparison. "Orcas or 'killer whales,' have you ever seen a video on YouTube of an orca toying with a seal before going in for the kill, or throwing one back and forth with pod-mates?"

A shudder ran down Yasmina's spine, then she felt Ben and Sammy move in closer as all the kids nodded. "Well, like that!" Roxie grinned the green filter making her appear somehow sinister. "Oh, and they're venomous with a potent neurotoxin, so ...they usually have a long time to play. Feeding time is not pretty, anymore questions before we move on?"

"So, those things were creepy," Kenji announced coming up to the trio and taking a position near Sammy's free hand. "Like so much more than normal creepy. I'm uh, gonna stick with you guys, you know to watch your backs make sure you're all alright."

"My hero." Yasmina said sarcastically as she leaned forward to see his face. "Just don't get attacked by anymore trees."

"Haha!"

Sammy started to giggle as they walked on, heads swiveling to take in their surroundings, the occasional blur of a glowing orb to the left and right causing the little group to huddle nearer to one another. "What?" Yasmina snapped with both annoyance and nerves.

"Oh nothin'" Sammy said dismissively.

"No, what?" Yaz demanded.

"If I say it you have to promise you won't be mad."

Yasmina pressed her lips together in a hard line, "I promise." she lied.

"I just," Sammy paused to giggle again. "I just feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz is all!"

The little band of campers stopped walking as they all looked at Sammy then one another. Sammy thought she was heartless, Yasmina thought dismally, but that was fine, and so be it let her be heartless she thought. It was better to be heartless and alone by choice, than to be heartbroken and abandoned.

"So, wait, which one am I?" Kenji asked perplexed.

This time Yaz got in on joke laughing with Sammy as they walked on, the boy still demanding an answer in frustration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever see that video on YouTube of the baby owls hissing at the camera vying for a better vantage point? That's how the troodon move.
> 
> Edit: so I looked for the video and couldn't find it but this one is close to what I was picturing: https://youtu.be/bgcEiXW65Ko
> 
> And just to clarify Yasmina is referring to it being better to be alone as in friendless and ultimately loveless, than to be heartbroken and abandoned by her family.
> 
> Also her parents aren't keeping tabs on her in a malicious way even if Yaz sees it that way, they genuinely care about her.
> 
> Lastly in the Wizard of Oz book(s) the Emerald City isn't really emerald but it's residents and visiters are required to wear special green tinted goggles/glasses to make it appear as though it was!
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


	11. Star-Crossed

-CC Day 17-

Kenji, who couldn't ever remember having such a strict and regimented sleep schedule was slowly beginning to adapt. Feet stretched out to the railing at the end of the bed he rolled and flopped about his bunk, opening his eyes wearily. Feeling around on the mattress, hands searching blindly the boy groped about for his cellphone. What freaking time is it anyway? He asked himself with a yawn before gradually his initial bout of agitation subsided. It was kinda nice, it occurred to him then, to wake up naturally and undisturbed for once. Smiling contently, and choosing to give up the hunt, Kenji settled back against his pillow instead. Looking up at the textured plaster of the ceiling, he lazily conjured images out of the shapes as though they were clouds, feeling like it was going to be a good day today.

"Morning Kenji." Dave said brightly. Turning in horror the teen saw the stockpot-of-doom and with a brief warcry preemptively threw a pillow at its wielder.

"Come on man!" Kenji yelled covering his ears when the metal rang out loudly. "Every morning? Are you serious?"

"Everybody up, we got a long day ahead of us!" the counselor called out brightly, ignoring the teenager's plight.

Cutting into the bathroom ahead of Darius as they raced elbowing each other along the way, as had become tradition, the victor slammed the door behind himself with a loud woop. "Better luck next time, junior!" he mocked.

The momentary thrill of triumph short-lived, and still bereft of his leisurely morning Kenji mean-mugged himself in the mirror as he took a leak. Then, walking to the sink when he had finished he washed up and splashed cool water on his face in an attempt to ready himself for the day ahead and regain what enthusiasm he had lost. 

Pausing with annoyance as he stared at his reflection the teen tugged at a shaggy spot of hair in front of his ear. It had already been on the long side when he left home, but, this, this was getting ridiculous, he thought. He really should have done something about it instead of sulking around hoping his dad would change his mind, and wondered absently if they had any half decent stylists on the island. Quickly adapting to the hand he was delt however, Kenji pulled out his hair cream which smelt of strong, earthy ocher, and a subtle hint of sweet coconut. Styling his signature quiff before combing the ragged sides down snuggly, he fired off a couple rounds from his finger guns with approval.

Giving the cream a luxurious sniff he capped it and headed into the kitchen, arms outstretched, smile wide, "Kenji is here," he announced. "What's for breakfast?"

His expression fell when he found not a mountain of pancakes, or a heaping pile of bacon, or even quiche, but rather bags of trail mix, and water bottles, and ...books in their place. "Alright seriously, what kind of fuckery is this?" he asked knocking the backpack that had his name literally written on it out of a chair so that he could sit down.

"Language!" Roxie snapped from where she sat at the head of the table and everyone else filed in finding their assigned place to sit. Kenji threw his hands up already too disgruntled to argue, game over. Shoving everything towards the center of the table he folded his arms, resting his chin ontop of them and waited for whatever lame activity his wardens had cooked up for them today to be announced.

Once everyone was gathered Roxie smiled with excitement, "Who's ready for a little adventure?" she asked hopefully. Six hands raised around the table some much, much, more slowly than others.

"Uh that's not going to cut it," Dave said, hands on his hips as he stood behind Roxie. "Are we sure everyone is awake? I can get the pan out again, maybe even a hose. Are you guys ready for an adventure?" he asked with gusto. 

Kenji rolled his eyes when everyone else shouted "Yes!" back, sheeple.

"Now that's the spirit!" Roxie enthused, bright eyed. "Today you're in for a real treat, you're going to experience all that Camp Cretaceous has to offer like never before, by getting out into nature and experiencing the raw power and wonder of Jurassic World for yourselves first hand!" It was at this point that Kenji started to zone out, a complete disinterest for what the woman was saying overcoming the teenager.

"Blah, blah expedition, blah, blah dinosaurs, blah, blah teams, blah, blah, blah..." he heard wondering dismally if it was too late to fake a stomach ache. "And whichever team reaches the camp site first wins a very special prize!" this caught the boy's attention however, naturally competitive, and eager to win Kenji glanced at Roxie. "And to make things even more interesting there will also be a second place prize for the team that wins our little game of BINGO!"

"So wait, we're going to be rooting around in the dirt for our dinner?" Brooklynn asked with a grimace, and suddenly Kenji knew he had missed a few key details.

"Aw don't be like that foraging might be fun!" Sammy enthused.

"For you." Yasmina scoffed at the same time Ben cried out, "Does no one understand the term 'food safety?'"

Roxie heaved a sigh, looking around the table with disappointment. "Much of the native vegetation around the jungle is actually fit for human consumption, and this part of the island was designed with foraging in mind. Several new types of food bearing plants that wouldn't overtake the natural landscape were introduced for Camp Cretaceous campers specifically, and can be found dotted around the area. You just have to know what do look for."

"Hence these bad boys!" Dave grinned thumping one of the books soundly.

"See it does sound fun!" the cowgirl added with confidence.

"It does!" Darius agreed bouncing in his seat. "And I wonder what dinosaurs we're going to see!"

Lame, Kenji thought and was getting ready to try and bail on the whole thing when Ben beat him to it. "My stomach actually kinda hurts this morning." he mumbled gaze shifting to everyone around the table, earning a look from Kenji who didn't like have his line stolen from him.

"Does it really?" Roxie arched an eyebrow.

"Yes." Ben said quickly looking away.

"And you waited until after I explained our activity for the day to mention it?" she pressed coyly.

"I didn't want to interrupt?" he tried.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling the best either, maybe it was dinner last night or something." Kenji leaped into the debate.

"You didn't even eat the same things for dinner last night." the head counselor said folding her arms and leaning back in her seat.

"I feel fine!" Darius announced like the dino-horny Judas he was.

"Me too!" And "Same." Sammy, and Brooklynn chimed in.

"What's the matter boys afraid of a little exercise?" Yasmina laughed at them, using the backrest of her seat to twist around, popping her spine. Kenji glared at her in response, ready to argue that he could take her on, but Roxie was quick to move the conversation along.

"I'll be sure to pack some pepti-calm, and tums." she smiled.

"Do you mean Pepto?" Dave asked apparently just as confused as the others. "Because I'm pretty sure it's called Pepto Bismol."

"Whatever," Roxie said waving her hand as though she were shooing a fly. "Now all of you need to get dressed, put on your strongest pair of shoes, and meet me back here in let's say ten? We've got to get this adventure underway!" she clapped her hands as she spoke with emphasis.

It wasn't long before the teenagers were following their intrepid leaders out into the wild unknown. Brooklynn talked endlessly to the invisible twenty-seven million other campers as they went. Munching away on the salty sweet blend of nuts and dried fruit he'd been given Kenji rolled his shoulders as he watched her little pep act. What was in this backpack anyway, he wondered, rocks? It felt like rocks.

"I wouldn't eat all of that right away," Dave cautioned glancing back from where he outpaced the others. "That and a power bar a piece make up your rations until dinner, and then it's whatever we can find and carry."

"This blows." Kenji observed, continuing to pick at the trailmix, earning only the ire of those around him in response.

After they had marched through the jungle on a difficult to discern path they finally arrived at a fork in the road at which Dave turned about face and announced, "Welp, this is where the fun begins. Girls, you're with Roxie, boys you're with me. May the best team win!"

"What?" Kenji bellowed. "In what way is that fair?" he began protesting, arms gesturing wildly. "The girl team has a literal olympian, a cowgirl, and someone who has climbed Mount Everest! And what do we get huh? Me, awesome, obviously, Darius a dinosaur obsessed gamer, and, and Ben!" he exclaimed motioning broadly to the mousey boy who was desperately trying to do his best impression of a glass window. "I will literally trade any one of them for Ben! He's completely useless! The dudes scared of his own shadow! Please, anyone but him!"

Already the other campers were arguing against Kenji, but it felt half-hearted, there was no way they couldn't see exactly what he did. Their feeble attempts to defend Ben only further vindicated Kenji's point as no one could find a single redemptive quality about the bookish boy who routinely sat out every activity or experience. Everyone was just trying to be overly sensitive towoards Ben, lying to themselves about how much of a let down he really was, Kenji felt. 

One point for Kenji, everyone else zero.

"I'll be on team Ben!" Sammy offered with a smile, because of course she would. "Besides slow and steady wins the race, right Ben?"

"In what universe?" Yaz scoffed. Kenji held up a hand only to be snubbed and left hanging.

"No, this is the way things are going to be, boys vs girls." Dave announced with an uncharacteristically peeved expression. "I don't care what advantages or disadvantages either team seems to have, you're here to have fun! So stop frickin' tearing into one another all the time and start you know, having fun! Because that's what summer camp is all about! Fun!"

Kenji crossed his arms over his chest defiantly as he was quickly outnumbered by those who shared Dave's sentiment. The couselor in question swept a hand through his hair as if keeping his composure was taking every last ounce he had left in him and Kenji couldn't help but wonder how difficult it was for Dave no to swear right now.

"Alright ladies allons-y!" Roxie clapped her hands and began walking away from where the trail divided.

"You two go on ahead, we'll catch up." Dave instructed Darius and Ben, while the girls veered off to the left. "Go on!" he pointed irritably down the path he wanted them to follow.

Oh boy, Kenji thought sarcastically, another dad lecture from someone who wasn't even his father but still thought it was their place to try, goodie!

"That was extremely uncalled for back there," Dave scolded. "We're all here for the same reasons, to have fun, make friends and memories that will last a lifetime, and to enjoy ourselves, but every chance you get you make that boy feel like dirt! What is your-"

"Oh no, his worst nightmare!" the teen replied waving his hands for added affect.

Dave looked at Kenji for a long moment as though trying to decide what to say, or more likely, the teenager felt, what he was legally allowed to say. "We all have moments in our lives that keep us awake at night, moments we wish we could take back or do over, don't let today be one of those moments Kenji. Not for my sake, not even for Ben's sake, since you're obviously incapable of that type of compassion, but for the sake of a future good night's rest. Please, just try not to be that asshole."

"Whatever."

Dave stared for a long moment before motioning for Kenji to follow him. Once they had caught up with the others Dave began doling out responsibilities. Giving Darius the BINGO card, Ben the field guide to all of edible and medical plants that surrounded them, and then slapped a map and a compass into Kenji's hand.

"Lead the way."

Opening the map Kenji oriented himself with it briefly. If the treehouse was back there, and the big red X was over there, and North was... "Come on let's go." he announced rushing past the others through the underbrush. Keeping a steady pace the oldest boy was soon leaving the others struggling to keep up as he plowed relentlessly ahead.

"Kenji, I'd slow down if I were you!" the counselor called to him.

"Why?" the teenager who was keen on winning shouted back. "It's a race isn't it?"

"Well, yeah but it's not literally a foot race, this is a twenty mile hike my man. It's all about endurance."

"What?" Kenji yelled turning around in shock.

"Twenty miles?" Ben whined, brow furrowed apprehensively.

"Yep," Dave nodded as they caught up to their fearless leader. "It's supposed to take all day, you know get some exercise, have some bonding time, maybe make some new friends along the way." 

"This is so stupid!" Kenji complained. "As if walking through all the dirt and bugs, and hot stupid air wasn't bad enough you're telling me we're going to be doing it all day long?"

"Maybe even into the night, if we can't keep pace." Dave added with snark.

"Oh my God!" Darius shouted, Kenji was about to thank him for agreeing with his sentiment when the kid rushed off through the brush, camera flashing as he took pictures. "The teeth marks on this cycad match those from the fossilized remains found in mass hadrosaur die out sites!"

Dave smiled as he walked over, "Sure do, if we're lucky maybe we'll stumble across the herd or-"

"Droppings!" Darius practically squealed. "They're fresh too! And foot prints? Come on guys they headed this way! I wonder if they're lambeosaurus, or maiasaura, or oh, oh, hypacrosaurus!" he shouted bounding forward through the tangling ferns and vines. 

Catching up with them Kenji who hopped up on the trunk of a fallen tree shoved the other boy, "Nerd."

"Show off!" Darius pushed him back, kicking off friendly banter and rough housing as they walked.

After trekking for what seemed like ages with the sun beating down on them did they finally stop for a lunch break, pulling out their power bars. Darius who was leaping out of his skin with excitement kept going on and on about the 'small' herd of loud honking animals they had seen. To Kenji's eyes they were just really big, really dumb lizards splashing around in the water that made a kinda cool trumpeting sound, but the kid couldn't get over their coloration, or the way the adults pulled the young green stems of plants down for the adolescences and what this meant for all theories of dinosaurs as nurturing caregivers as none of the infants were actually theirs, because they were hatched in the lab. He had officially gone insane, the older boy felt, chewing his less than appetizing lunch.

Sweeping a space clear from debris with his foot Kenji dropped his backpack to the ground, laying back in a relatively shady spot, and closed his eyes. Body aching as he felt like he might begin to drift off, he listened to Dave and Darius talk.

"Yeah did you see the way they all turned and looked when I hit those rocks together?" Kenji asked.

"It was so cool!" Darius enthused. "That just goes to show their level of intelligence they didn't just panic and run at their first experience with something unknown. They stopped walking and made conscious observations of the environment around them, I mean how cool was that?" Darius bubbled. "And then we you repeated the experiment, and they tried hooting back like it was a new call or something? That was incredible!"

"Yeah," Kenji smiled to himself, "That was pretty smart of me." He was glad that he and the kid had been getting along, nearly being eaten... twice, really worked wonders for forging fast friendships. 

In reality however, Kenji hadn't been trying to conduct any kind of experiment. The group had been crouched in the bug infested shrubs just watching the whatever-a-sauruses for who knew how long when Kenji couldn't take it anymore. All the teen had been trying to do was scare them off or at least get them to do something exciting, but hey, it was a win-win because after failing to communicate the lumbering beasts moved on.

"I'm not sure but I think this might be lactarius indigo." Ben said from somewhere near Kenji's feet.

"Oh, blue milk cap good find!" Dave said going to stand by him. "Who likes mushrooms?"

Great, Kenji thought rolling onto his arm. Between the spiny fruit and the gourd-squash things Ben found earlier dinner was going the taste exactly the same going down as what he expected would taste coming back up, which it would, because, nasty!

"Oh, and look at what kind of tree roots they're growing around!" the man observed. "Mulberry trees, and the berries are ripe. Come on Kenji come try some." he called to the boy who reluctantly got up. "They're like very sweet, very long blackberries."

Picking some of the fruit Dave rolled the berries in his hands brushing off any dirt and excess pollen before handing the red and purple fruit out to the boys who had gathered around him. Skeptically Kenji popped the berry in his mouth where it exploded with sticky cloying juices, and seeds that got caught in his teeth. It was actually pretty good, he thought noticing that Darius must have had a similar notion as they began picking and eating more of the fruit right off the tree.

"Remember to save some for later, and don't pick the white ones, they're not ripe yet." Dave instructed.

Ben stood to one side frowning, still holding the berry he'd been given in one hand while the other was pressed hard against his stomach as though he was completely grossed out and struggling to keep it together. "You should really wash them first." he put in addressing the group. "There's no way to be sure what kind of bugs have been on or even inside of these fruits, not to mention traces of urine and feces, left by all sorts of animals, which could carry unknown bacteria and viruses. But if you want to eat bird poop I mean that's ok too."

"Gee, thanks for that Ben." Dave said looking suddenly queazy himself.

"Jesus Christ Ben do you have to ruin everything?" Kenji snapped spitting out a mouthful of fruit with repulsion.

"He was just trying to help." Darius interjected, though he was looking a little more lackluster than before as he started gingerly gathering the mulberries in a bag.

"Ben's idea of helping, is by making things worse, his idea of fun, is by making me things more difficult, and his idea of being a good friend is by making sure that everyone is just as miserable as he is!" Kenji surmised turning on the subject of his tyrade. "Why didn't you do us all a big favor and just stay at the tree house with your books? Because they're your only real friends, and anyone else who says otherwise just feels sorry for you."

"Kenji!" Dave shouted, at the same time a red faced Ben reminded Kenji, "I did try to stay at the treehouse!"

"Why do you have to be so mean all the time?" Darius asked after Ben had walked away.

"Oh, what, just because I'm not all PC and handing out participation trophies for life, now I'm mean?" he asked in frustration. "Well guess what junior, there are no participation trophies in the real world, and that kid is coming in dead last."

"Yeah?" Darius asked. "And where do you think you're going to finish because it certainly isn't first. 'Life's a relay and you can't run it alone. You gotta have a team by your side, people who got you to where you are now, and people who will take you where you want to be tomorrow. Because when it comes down to it there's no such thing as a self made man, it takes effort, and it takes help to succeed, and if you fall trying to go it alone there won't be any body there to help you get back up.'"

"Oh and what lame ass self help book did you get that from?" Kenji asked.

"I got it from my dad!" Darius said blinking back fresh tears before storming off in another direction.

"Why didn't I go with the girls?" Dave asked pacing away from all of them. "Or listen to Roxie and swap out Ben for Yasmina then everything would have been fine!"

Alone Kenji couldn't help but feel bitter about the situation. He wasn't wrong, so why everyone was acting like he was some sort of monster for stating the obvious was beyond him. Sulking as they milled about the area for several minutes he once again led the way after Dave declared that their break was over. Feet throbbing it was nearly sundown by the time they reached the camp site the girls who had gotten there first already had a fire going and were relaxing in folding chairs when they ambled up.

Kenji gave Ben, for whom they had made over a dozen stops for, to catch his breath, wash his hands, or generally look around like a frightened rabbit a dirty look. "Thanks a lot Ben." he muttered while Darius rushed to swap dino stories with the girls.

Ben who kept his head down walked away without a word, going towards the two large tents he disappeared inside the furthest one. "I'll be right back, I've gotta go talk to Ben." Dave said handing his bag off to Roxie.

"That bad huh?" she asked as he walked away. "So, you wanna tell me what happened?" the woman added turning to Kenji.

"What are you asking me for, how do you know it wasn't Darius huh?" Kenji asked walking over to the fire.

"I didn't say it was anyone's fault. I merely asked what had happened. Ben could have fallen and sprained his wrist for all I know." Roxie went on. "Why are you acting so defensive?" she asked, like she was so smart.

Sitting in one of the chairs throwing random leaves and twigs, into the dancing orange flames Kenji listened as Darius described their encounter with the herd of hadrosaur, showing pictures he had taken to aid in the narrative. "It was so cool you guys!" he beamed.

"We saw a whole bunch of stegosauruses!" Sammy was saying. "Not as close as y'all were but Brooklynn was able to use her camera to zoom in! They were moving in one big herd, and kept calling to each other from the front of the herd to the back like they were playing a game of telephone or something!"

"Here." Brooklynn nudged her way between them, pulling up a video on her phone.

"That's not a game of telephone, they're communicating, threats!" Darius explained, bouncing in his seat. "Their eyesight isn't the best so it would make sense that they'd keep each other informed about any new smells or developments when they travel."

"Keep watching," Yasmina instructed when the boy tried moving Brooklynn's cell away. "A little one takes off running and it's mom chases it down. It's, cute or whatever." she added with an air of cool from where she'd come to stand behind the little group.

"How's Ben?" Roxie asked when Dave came storming to the fireside, throwing himself down into a chair.

"I don't even know!" he half shouted picking up a rock and throwing it into the kindling. "I just, I don't get that kid. Every time I try to do anything with him I feel like I'm making things worse. He was upset before, but then I tried talking to him, do the whole buddy thing, and now he's crying! Just all curled up, and crying!"

"Oh no, what's wrong with Ben?" Sammy was the first to chime in. Dave cast Kenji a glare before saying he didn't know. "Well I'm going to go check on him."

"I think maybe we should give him some space." Roxie said, patting Dave on the shoulder as she walked past him. "For now let's break out the goods and figure out what the boys are making us for dinner."

"What?" Kenji and Darius asked in unison, brows raised.

"The prize for getting here first is not having to cook." Brooklynn announced cockily, snapping a photo of their stunned and unhappy expressions.

While the girls unloaded their haul, Kenji couldn't help glancing up to the large red dome of the boys' tent. He hadn't meant to make Ben cry, but damn did that kid need to grow up. It was just a little razzing, he thought, and it wasn't like Ben didn't ask for it. He actually made it too easy to pick on him. Still, Kenji couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. Grabbing the sleeping bag that had been tightly rolled at the top of his pack the teen headed for the tent, already trying to form an apology. Inside he could see just how upset Ben really was as he huddled on the ground weepy eyed.

"Seriously, all this over a few comments?" he asked, immediately failing to make amends. "What are you a girl?"

Ben looked up at him through red swollen eyes. "Just leave me alone." he sobbed.

"No." Kenji sneered rolling out his sleeping bag. "Why should I?"

"Because I'm asking you to?"

"And?"

Scooting to a corner the gangly boy folded his arms over his knees and cried. Kenji was awash with conflicting emotions, he felt shitty sure, but also at the same time he was so incredibly annoyed and frustrated that he just wanted to grab Ben by the shoulders and scream, "Grow a pair!"

"Seriously man," Kenji started trying to turn on his affable charm. "You are the single whiniest, most neurotic, chicken shit scardey cat I have ever met!" he laughed.

"Ok." Ben muttered into his elbow.

"You're not supposed to agree with me!" Kenji shouted, angry all over again. "Defend yourself, get mad or something! What's wrong with you anyway?" 

"A lot, apparently." Ben snapped.

Shame and guilt shot through Kenji who stood staring at his feet for a minute before he spoke again, "I'm sorry." he muttered. "I really am, and I'll try to do better, just don't go all 13 Reasons Why on me ok?" he joked on the way back out, though the implications and feeling that it was probably in poor taste struck him too late, making him squeeze his eyes shut. "And um, we lost the race so we have to cook dinner or whatever." he added, letting the nylon door fall closed between them.

With no better ideas Dave and the guys decided that they were going to try and make a stew with what had been gathered by both parties. Huddled around the fireside with lanterns for extra light as darkness began to fall they were busy trying to sniff out the differences of the various herbs the girls had found in addition to their tubers, and scant legumes. Dividing the task Darius washed cleaned and peeled, while Sammy sat nearby watching with amusement, and mocking the way Kenji held the knife as he chopped and diced the various veggies.

"We need to boil the water for at least five minutes," Ben murmured coming up behind them. "For washing and drinking purposes too."

"Why?" Dave scoffed stoking up the flames.

"Two words," Ben said matter of factly as he crouched down among his teammates. "Intestinal parasites."

After eating the most palatable parts of a stringy squash-mushroom-rando-root-and-bean-thing stew presided over by the lord of hygiene himself who did his upmost to keep them all from going the way of the Oregon Trail the kids settled down for some real fun. Singing songs loudly and off key they all laughed and joked boisterously, hurt feelings mostly forgotten by all of them when the haunting song of a brachiosaurus answered back to their rowdy music. Forgetting everything else for a minute the kids attempted to communicate with the animal mimicking it's sound, breaking out in fits of awestruck giggles each time they got a response. Until it sounded again very close by.

"That's enough of that!" Roxie laughed, a finger pressed against her lips. "Let's allow our friend a good night's rest hmm?"

After that was a game of charades, a few stories, and a chaperoned PG game of truth or dare. One Kenji noticed near the end was missing a certain camper. Excusing himself he went in search of Ben. Thinking that maybe he'd turned in for the night he checked the tent first, only to come up empty handed. Looking around he finally spotted him, blanket wrapped around his shoulders alone in the dark. Walking towards him Kenji was going to ask what was up when he was hit with a head splitting brightness, blinded by a direct beam of light to his eyes.

"Jesus, what?" Kenji asked blinking rapidly, eyes watering.

"Sorry." Ben whispered lowering his flashlight. "You scared me."

"Yeah well, what are you doing way out here?" Kenji asked. "Not still pouting about earlier are you?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Looking at the stars." Ben said pointing towards the sky.

Kenji looked up, still blinking past the floating glare left by the flashlight he was able to see a huge ribbon of light cutting through the darkness of the heavens. "Whoa." he breathed in awe. A bush rustled nearby causing Ben to jump, the light he wielded cutting through the unknown and illuminating only empty branches. A heavy weight in his chest Kenji sat down beside Ben elbowing the other boy in a friendly manner. "I really am sorry about before. I was a grade A asshole, but I meant it when I said I'd try better. So if you, I don't know need a body guard or someone to watch your back when you're all dorky and looking at the stars or something I'm here."

Ben seemed to weigh the offer carefully, looking Kenji up and down for a long minute. "Ok," he nodded. "Thanks... Do you know anything about constellations?"

"Like the big dipper and stuff? Yeah." Kenji scoffed leaning back against the slightly damp foliage.

"Well you see that big bright square right there?"

"...yeah?"

"And those three bright stars pointing down from the bottom right, and the five bottom let?"

"I think so." Kenji muttered squinting hard as he tried playing the most intricate game of connect the dots ever.

"Well, add in those two lines of stars at the top, and that's the constellation Hercules." Ben smiled.

"Like from the cartoon? Wait there's really a constellation of Hercules in the sky?" Kenji sat up impressed, even if he still couldn't quite make out the pattern.

"Not that Hercules!" Ben sighed. "The Roman Hercules, god of strength and heroes."

"Aw Ben!" Kenji gushed with playful exaggeration. "I know I'm your hero now and all but-"

"Oh no," Ben shook his head. "If you're anyone from mythology it's definitely Narcissus."

"Whose that is he handsome?" Kenji asked. Ben let out a laugh.

"Whatcha looking at?" Sammy asked sitting next to Ben, startling them both.

"She's a ninja am I right?" Yasmina asked joining them as well.

As the night passed the campers and counselors all gathered around listening quietly as Ben pointed out several constellations including Lyra, Cygnus, and Draco, sharing brief overviews of the stories behind each. A sleepy sense of ease came over all of them, as they enjoyed their impromptu astronomy lesson, watching the milky band of light slowly floating over them. Blinking his weary eyes hard as he fought against it Kenji, though he would fervently deny it come morning drifted off to sleep, under a glittering, crystal sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long, life is being a butt.
> 
> I have also never actually seen 13 Reasons Why, I just know it's about suicide and bullying, I think, so hopefully that was a good reference for what was happening in the scene.
> 
> Thanks for reading! :D


	12. Dave

-CC Day Twenty- 

Lounging around, with his feet on the coffee table Dave mindlessly matched colorful shapes on his phone causing explosions and cascading rivers of new brightly colored objects to fill in the empty spaces left behind. So much fun, he thought bitterly. Glancing up to see Roxie reading a newspaper like an old woman, he was sure that it wouldn't be long before she'd ask him to play bridge or canasta next. Being a camp counselor, even at Jurassic World of all places was not exactly what the man had been hoping for. In fact he found it quite depressing, and at this point he kind of hated it. 

None of the kids could get along for more than a day or two at a time, not a single one of the outings they had planned was deemed a unanimous success someone always finding at least one flaw in each activity, and at times the kids could be mean, like really ruthlessly mean, not just to each other, and not in the way he was accustomed to dealing with mean kids.

All Dave had wanted was a break from his life, and for the kids to relax and have fun, fondly recalling his own camp experiences as a child. His memories were filled with daring adventures, broken rules, skinned knees, and now that he thought about it very questionable blood pacts and games of spin the bottle. Man camp was weird, but that was the point! Summer camp let you be weird, it let you taste freedom, and explore who you were without the totalitarian reign of parents and guardians, and it let you do it before you were shackled by the unbreakable adamantium bonds of adulthood. 

It was like with all the pressure and expectations put on children these days they were forced to grow up faster and faster without getting the opportunity to really have a bite of life before it was ripped away, replaced by work and responsibilities. And that was all he wanted for them, and yet he seemed to fail each and every time he tried.

"Am I intimidating?" he asked after a moment, the thought occuring to him suddenly. Roxie let out a snorting laugh, the corners of her eyes wrinkling with mirth. Dave, who didn't think it was quite as funny stared until she could compose herself.

"No I mean it." he said putting his cell away and leaning towards her, real concern on his face. "It seems like no matter what I do Ben's afraid of me." he paused, playing through various situations which he might have done something to warrant that type of reaction. "I mean, yeah the whole zipline thing was kinda mean, and I know I probably threw the ball a little harder than I should have in pachysephalosaurus themed dodgeball, but I mean, come on! He was looking right at it he could have moved! Or caught it! Or something!"

Roxie folded her paper over her expression aghast. "You gave him a bloody nose in the first ten seconds of the game!"

"He should have dodged!" Dave yelled back defensively. "It's called dodge-ball! You literally dodge the ball!"

"And another thing," he cut through the silence that had fallen over the employee recreation area, full on vent mode activated. "I don't think Brooklynn or Kenji really like me either. I try to joke around, engage with them, you know camp counselor stuff and they just look at me like I'm crazy! It's just like what am I doing wrong? Am I not cool enough for you guys? I'm sorry, I'm just trying to make sure you're not miserable the whole time you're here!" 

The man fell quiet again as he brooded and Roxie returned to her paper. "Also woo that Yasmina! That girl can seriously run! I can hardly keep up with her, like at all!"

"Dave," Roxie sighed. "That's because even though she's only seventeen, Yasmina is a professional athlete. While you're, you're just... not."

"I know she's an athlete," Dave rolled his eyes. "But I mean damn, most mornings she's just a little gray dot on the horizon... Oh, but I've lost like eight pounds!" he enthused patting his slightly tighter gut. "I think I might keep this running thing up after the summer's over. I've been feeling really good lately too, I mean I'm dying every morning, but I feel great!"

"That's great." the woman replied, clearly distracted.

"That's exactly what I just said. Are you even listening to me? Because you don't sound very enthusiastic. You know if you lost eight pounds and wanted someone to celebrate I'd be blowing it up for you." Dave pouted.

Roxie lowered her paper once more, this time to reveal dangerously narrowed hazel eyes. It was then that Dave knew somehow, in some way, that he'd just fucked up. "Are you calling me fat?" she asked in a sharp-but-trying-to-not-get-too-angry sort of tone.

"No!" Dave was quick to say, hands up defensively. "No, not at all! You look, you look- I mean-" he trailed off giving her the ok sign and a wink hoping to defuse the situation.

"Mm-hm." she muttered with a cocked eyebrow, Dave could feel the threat level dropping from red to orange and reminded himself to watch what he said. "Listen the thing with the kids not liking you is because your their camp counselor, not a fellow camper, and not their friend."

"Why not?" Dave asked incredulously. "Why can't I be their counselor and their friend."

"That's the other thing. You also try way too hard."

"How can someone try 'too hard?'" he sneered, leaning over the back of the sofa to peer through the open doorway. Through the opening and down the hall he could just make some of the kids. They were all gathered in the entertainment room playing on their phones or zoning off to the television like bumps on a log.

"I think we're melting their brains." he muttered to himself, but Roxie felt that it was her duty to respond anyway.

"No we're not, that's what technology is for, we're educating them." she snarked.

"Yeah, but I think they could use a break from all this structure and learning they get enough of it during the school year, trust me. What they need is some sort of outlet, burn of some steam and energy." he explained.

"That's exactly what today is, down time."

"And what are they doing with their downtime?" Dave criticized growing more frustrated and more impatient, though for what he wasn't sure. "Just watching movies all day, napping, texting? Ugh! They should be out doing something!"

"You're a strange one alright." the woman dismissed turning away from him.

Glowering at the kids Dave couldn't help but feel that this whole situation was incredibly wrong. It didn't even feel like summer vacation it felt like a lazy Saturday, and he wasn't quite sure how, but he intended to fix it. What they needed was freedom, excitement, and most importantly adventure. A devilishly ingenious plan coming to mind Dave got up and headed for the door.

"I'm just gonna go take a quick poll on what everyone wants for lunch." he explained.

"So you're cooking then?" Roxie asked in a way that made it sound like a statement.

"Sure." Dave nodded, easing the door closed behind him.

Walking into the entertainment room Dave took up a position in front of the TV, hands on his hips, and a mischievous grin on his face as everyone broke out in protest. "I know, I know, but hear me out." he beamed before checking over his shoulder superstitiously. "Today was supposed to be a day of zen, tranquility, and relaxation, but let's face it, today is a bust. Now, who's ready for a top-secret-ultra-mega-covert-do-not-tell-Roxie-ditch-camp-breakout-adventure-extravaganza?"

"I'm in!" Sammy jumped up eagerly, Brooklynn quick to agree.

"Me too!" Darius said, struggling to contain his enthusiasm. "What are we going to go see? Is it something dangerous? Something Roxie doesn't what us getting too close to? Oh like a-"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but there are no dinosaurs on this one, no learning either, just you guys having some fun." Dave cut him off with a wince.

"Oh." Darius said setting his bowl of chips aside, looking a bit deflated. "I'm still in though."

"Anything to get out of here!" Kenji who was hanging upside-down from the back of the sofa groaned.

"Ditto." Yasmina agreed.

Slowly the room turned towards Ben who was reading contently in a beanbag chair. He appeared caught off guard when he noticed everyone staring at him. "So Ben, are you coming or what?" Dave asked with a smile.

"I-I don't really think we should be breaking the rules, and if Roxie doesn't know it feels like we're breaking the rules." he muttered squeezing sanitizer into his palm.

"So, what, Roxie's my boss now, and I can't make my own rules?" Dave scoffed.

"Isn't she though?" he asked.

While the kid did technically have a point, something the counselor grudgingly conceded Dave still had one final tactic to resort to: good old fashioned peer pressure. "Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben!" he started chanting. The kids picked it up and soon they were all cheering for the boy in low secretive tones.

"Fine, I'll go!" he finally gave in.

"Fantastic, everybody, go get your swimsuits on and meet back here in five!" Dave declared watching with amusement as everyone scrambled away doing their best to keep the noise to a minimum in spite of all the laughter.

Hurrying to his own bedroom Dave pulled on a pair of trunks, a white tee, and sunglasses. Looking sharp, he thought giving himself a quick once over before loading a duffle bag with a bunch of towels, some Camp Cretaceous shirts, water bottles, and granola bars. By the time he got back most of the kids were waiting for him, Kenji doing his best to impress the girls as he flexed and posed his topless bod. Darius who wasn't nearly as muscular was doing the same beside him. Grinning Dave couldn't determine whether the younger boy was trying to mock or emulate him, either way it made for a hilarious sight.

Girls are always so self-conscious, Dave thought rather dismally then, as he did a quick head count. Brooklynn had not one but two different shirts on over her bathing suit, while Sammy hid her lower body under a pair of baggy shorts. "Is that your suit?" he asked pausing at Yasmina, regretting it when she turned away with embarrassment.

"Yeah, it's for speed swimming." she replied fiddling with the zipper at the front of her body suit.

"I didn't know you were a triathlete!" Sammy chimmed in.

"I'd wager there's a lot you don't know." Yaz bit out.

"Guys, no fighting this is our fun day. Got it?" Dave asked trying to reassure himself that this was a good idea just as much as he was trying to reign the campers in. Turned out he wouldn't need to, as a fit of giggles broke out at the sight of Ben, caked in sunscreen, wearing sunglasses, a large sun visor, a Hawaiian shirt, and socks with sandels waddled in juggling a tote and several different books.

"What?" he asked. "As if I would submerge myself in a soup of-"

"Uh-uh!" "No, no, no, no!" "Ben stop it!" and "That's already way too much information buddy!" Dave and the other kids interrupted hastily.

"I was just going to say-"

"If you ruin swimming for me I swear to God I'll ruin your book!" Kenji threatened with a clenched fist. "Yeah, that's right, I read the ending!" Ben looked horrified but kept his mouth shut.

"Huh," Brooklynn said observing how the scenario played out. "You're kind of an evil genius." Leading the way the influencer nabbed one of Ben's novels while he scrambled to keep hold of his other supplies. Yaz, and Darius quickly followed her example each one turning to the last few pages of their pilfered material, gasping scandalously while they read. Laughing, they raced towards the elevator in heated competition.

"I think I hate you." Ben said to Kenji with a look of pure exhaustion.

Dave smiled ushering everyone outside, as Sammy assured her friend that no one would dare to actually spoil anything for him.

Once everyone was loaded into the back of the Jeep Dave pulled up along the exterior of the treehouse, staring up at the window of the recreation center. Honking the horn several times he waited until Roxie was leaning out of it, with a sour expression on her face before he produced his cellphone and gave her a ring.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded to know.

"Well, hi to you too." the man said hanging his head out of the driver's door. "So, this seemed like one of those beg forgiveness later type situations, so this is me, you know begging... But also if you wanted to throw on a swimsuit and hop in the other car we're gonna go crash the big water park near the central hotel..."

"You're going to what?"

"K see ya later bye!" Dave laughed hanging up on her. Burning rubber and kicking up dirt for a second the man tore off in the truck with a jerk as the momentum he'd built caught up with them. The children wooped and hollered from the back, fists pumping in the air. "Let's rock!" the counselor said to himself blasting some tunes, windows rolled down, probably frightening everything within ear shot, but oh well.

Getting into the water park was a breeze, they just found another large group of people heading in quickly flashed their non existent wristbands, and blended into the herd. Rushing past the welcome desk, through the concession stands, and making a run for it the last leg of the journey they emerged victorious on the other side. Inhaling the pungent chlorinated air the camp counselor took in everything from the wave pool, to the dozen or so waterslides, and grinned at his charges.

"Now is this a day off or what?" he asked as they looked around and then back at him expectantly. He glanced at his watch, before finding an easily distinguishable landmark. "Alright, we'll meet back at the apatosaurus awning in say two hours?"

"Wait, we can just go?" Darius asked trying to surpress a smile, just in case he'd misheard.

"Yeah, you're free. Go!" Dave laughed.

"Like for real, reals?" Sammy followed up skeptically.

"Like for real, reals, or we can always go back to the treehouse."

"Bye!" Yasmina shouted racing away from the group.

"Peace out!" Kenji called bounding away as well.

And just like that the campers dispersed into the massive horde of visitors, some flying solo, others in pairs. Finding himself a luxury pool side chair Dave leaned back and relished the deep radiating warmth of the sun. It was as he lounged blissfully and without a care in the world that he heard a familiar voice screaming with delight. 

Turning just in time he saw Yasmina rocketing out of a big red corkscrew, eyes squeezed closed, laughter infectious as the man realized he hadn't ever seen her so genuinely happy. Trying to cypher through the massive throngs of bodies the others weren't quite so easy to pick out. Except, of course, for Ben who had cordoned off the area by rearranging some benches and strategically placing various articles onto them so that he could read in the shade undisturbed. 

Sammy and Brooklynn he eventually spotted wading in the shallows gossiping, while Kenji was undoubtedly off trying to mentor Darius in something likely misinformed, inappropriate, and highly cringe worthy. Scratch that, he thought as the boy with the dark complexion shot out a green slide nothing but smiles.

Finally! Dave thought with contentment, now it was beginning to feel like summer camp and not a juvenile detention center! Resolving to let them have their fun the man set a fifteen minute alarm on his phone and settled back, listening to the cacophonic noise of the hustle and bustle around him, this was truly the life.

By the time of the third headcount however, Dave espied something that concerned him. He approached the notorious duo with a stern look of disapproval directed at Kenji, who was sprawled out in the sun sipping what looked like a large strawberry daiquiri. The man cleared his throat loudly when his presence went unnoticed.

Kenji sat up eyes wide beneath his shades, "It's virgin I swear!" he said in an anxious rush.

Dave stared down at him hard, gaze shifting to Darius next who was smiling like a nervous puppy that just spotted the rolled up newspaper. Struggling with his suspicions the counselor didn't want to call Kenji an outright liar, yet that was exactly what his gut was screaming. Wrestling for a moment with his responsibility as a camp counselor, a teacher, and temporary guardian, he also knew that this sort of thing was a normal part of being a teenager, a part he had gone through when he wasn't much older.

"It had better be. Remember I'm still here, and I'm still watching you." he cautioned, his desire for the kids to just experience life outweighing his own sense of duty and moral obligation, Dave chose to let this one slip.

Seriously, the man thought with aggravation as he ambled back to his chair, listening as Kenji and Darius laughed and high-fived behind him. Dave knew now without a doubt that he'd been lied to, and maybe that was ok, just this once, he reasoned, though he knew he'd have to keep a closer eye on them. The man was just beginning to relax in his chair again when a somehow deeply ominous shadow blocked out the light. Cracking one eye he smiled up apologetically to his vengefully gorgeous, yet jilted partner in all of this.

"Roxie-roo, you made it," he grinned turning his head to the side so she wasn't quite so upside down. "And looking good in that suit by the way. You're really lucky the camp color is red because I have to say that really is your color, I mean what eight pounds?"

"Hello David." she gritted out, arms rigidly crossed.

"Ouch, that mad huh?" he winced gesturing for her to take the open chair beside him.

"I am furious!" she fumed starting to pace. "The least you could have done was consult me before committing six counts of kidnapping, and seven of breaking and entering! This isn't part of the camp package, you're technically stealing from this water park I hope you are aware!" she raged, her last few words gritted through her teeth as she leaned down in his face.

"We're not stealing, were just..." Dave puzzled for a moment trying to find a reasonable excuse. "Crashing?"

Rolling her eyes Roxie sat down, one leg crossed over the other giving him a disparaging look. "Well whatever you're doing it would have been nice to have been informed ahead of time."

"Would you have said 'no?'"

"Of course I would have said 'no' I'm not a sociopath!"

"See," he grinned with vindication. "That's exactly why we didn't ask you."

"We? Are you seriously trying to deflect some of the blame onto the children?"

"Fine, it's exactly why I didn't ask you. Better?"

The two quietly watched the kids race around like they'd lost their minds until a slowly loosening up Roxie spoke again. "So is this what you were like as a teacher?" she asked. "A rule breaker?"

"Oh most definitely!" Dave laughed nostalgically. "I did the whole shebang, brought the kids to the roof top for egg drops, cultivated a mold so pungent that half the school had to be evacuated when we uncapped that bad boy, encouraged the kids to play with fire-" he paused his reminiscing when he saw the look of abject terror she was giving him. "With proper adult supervision, God I'm not that crazy!" he laughed. "But getting kids physically involved in the science is what made it meaningful to them, and what sparked their interest in the world around them. And damn did it help make the lessons stick. Test scores, whoosh, through the roof!"

"You sound pretty passionate about it." the woman mused.

"Oh, I am." Dave nodded tossing her a water bottle from the duffle bag.

"So then why leave?" she asked.

Dave thought quietly for a moment his face grim. He wondered if bringing this up would change things between them. Would talking about it put the thought in her head where it would burrow and gnaw away at her until she became suspicious of it herself? He wondered. It had happened before when he'd expressed his frustration to co-workers in the past, what was there to say it wouldn't happen again?

"Do you know what people say when you're a grown man and you tell them that you work with children?" he asked. Roxie shook her head. "Well, if they're polite they say 'bless your heart.'"

"Bless your heart? Well that doesn't sound so bad." she smiled obliviously.

"That's because you're british." the man laughed tipped his own bottle towards her before taking a gulp. "Unless it's coming from an old southern woman it means that you're too stupid to even realize that what you're doing is stupid."

"Oh." Roxie's brow furrowed. "Well that doesn't seem terribly fair does it? Making something so cruel sound so nice... And what if they aren't polite."

"I'm not sure if I can speak for every school, but uh, the ones I've worked at it was always the same. The second a male teacher is hired the rumor mill starts running, churning out news in the blink of an eye. Everyone always knows you're sleeping with someone, the principal, other teachers, parents. Then if you're good with the kids," he let out a sigh. "It they like you and enjoy your class, that's when the rumors turn really nasty. Eventually people insinuate some pretty terrible things. The parents are always talking about you, the female teachers watch you like a hawk, and the office staff coordinates regular meetings just to 'insure everything is running smoothly.' All in all, everyone makes doing what makes you happy for the love of teaching, and wanting to make the world a better and brighter place for kids extremely uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry David," Roxie said gently. "I had no idea."

"It happens." the man shrugged. "Nothing ever came of it either, just rumors." he sighed again. "But that's just the way people see the world I guess."

"I hope that I haven't ever made you feel like I think-"

"You haven't," he beamed cutting her off. "And that's what's great about working with you. You trust me, and ever since picking Childhood Education as my major, that's something that I've found has been few and far between... Thank you."

"Anytime Co-Head Counselor." Roxie smiled back.

"Really?"

"For the today at the very least, actually 'Head Couselor Dave' sounds better, you know so if we get thrown out of here this ones all on you. As far as I'm concerned it's my day off." she larked before getting up and rushing into the water. The man wanted to follow her in, but didn't, likely overthinking things he opted to hang out where he was and keep an eye on the kids.

When Dave couldn't see three of his six campers a half-hour later he went in search of them, particularly concerned as the oldest among them was counted among those who had disappeared. Rounding the end of the wave pool he found Darius and Brooklynn in a fit of giggles as they tried shushing Kenji and pulling him back into his chair. 

"Hey, what's up?" Dave asked the wobbly teenager, already beginning to regret his momentary lapse in judgement.

"The sky." Kenji smiled as he broke free of his friends and tried to push past the counselor. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some drowning to do."

"What?" Dave asked no quite following.

"See Mr. Beefy McCakes?" Kenji asked motioning to a well muscled lifeguard. "Yeah, I'm in some serious need of mouth to mouth."

"Oh dear God help me." Dave muttered pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I thought you were supposed to use grand gestures?" Darius asked sarcastically, looking up at his friend.

"Yeah junior, but that's with girls," Kenji explained bluntly. "With guys you gotta let them be the hero!"

"If you say so." Darius said with a frown.

"Whatever." Kenji shrugged trying to move past Dave again, only to stop short when the man caught him tightly by the shoulder.

"How many of these have you had?" Dave bit out picking up a tall glass with a paper umbrella.

"Somewhere between too many for you to still believe they're none alcoholic, and not quite enough for me to forget how much camp sucks." he responded, swaying slightly. "Now, my audience awaits."

"Oh my God, I'm getting this on camera!" Brooklynn announced standing up phone at the ready.

"No, you're not." Dave shouted, pushing Kenji back into his seat. "Jesus!" he went on running a hand through his hair as he looked around for back up that wasn't there. "What were you thinking."

"Hey, it's not my fault," Kenji smiled with charm. "Darius wouldn't finish his, and Brooklynn is some sort of mojito snob."

"If you can call those mojit- I'm sorry?" Brooklynn smiled with forced sheepishness when the man turned his attention to her. "My dad got me one in Cancun... This one wasn't as good."

"And you?" he asked leveling his gaze at Darius who looked like he knew he was in for it.

"It tasted like a strawberry smoothie made with mouthwash," he grimaced. "I thought I could drink it but it was really gross."

"Fine," Dave sighed running a hand down his face. "You three wait here while I gather the others."

Scanning the crowds like a meerkat looking for predators Dave finally spotted Yasmina. She was walking fast with a scowl on her face, fists clenched, clearly on a warpath. Hurrying to catch up with her he tried it figure out where she was going when the counselor spotted Sammy and a girl he'd never seen before taking shelter behind her as the Texan squared off against a couple of guys who appeared to be frat boys on vacation. Pouring on the speed Dave rushed to get there before anything happened.

"This is the last time I'm going to warn you, keep your skeezy commentary to yourself!" Sammy was yelling, impervious to the embarassment of the attention she was drawing. "She doesn't like it, no girl likes it, and I'm done listening to it."

"Yeah," Yaz called taking up a position at Sammy's left mean faced and ready to brawl. "First rule of feminism you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Second rule is you mess with us and we'll make you our bit-"

"Whoa, hey, whoa!" Dave walked between the parties hands up. "I think that's enough, ladies we alright?"

"These pigs keep catcalling every girl they see!" Sammy shouted. "I was ignoring it until they started following her, and I could tell she didn't want to be followed."

"Hey, you alright?" Dave asked the girl in pink, who looked a lot younger than she did from across the pool, she shook her head. "Alright so you boys just go back to whatever you were doing, just leave her alone."

"We were only trying to be friendly." one of them objected, reaching a hand towards the young woman's exposed midriff.

"Mm, yeah, no. I'll call security." Dave said grabbing his wrist, tone dropping an octave. "But not before I break your face." Dave stared up at the slightly taller young man, grip tightening on the thug's forearm as they sized one another up. "We good?" Dave asked after a second.

"Fuck you," the one Dave had by the arm said pulling away. "You too, you fridged bitches."

"Yeah, and you with a rusted pipe!" Yasmina added, catching Dave by surprise. Thankfully, two guards approached the scene, and with their presence and a growing crowd in spite of what he feared her outburst didn't escalate the things any further.

"Is everyone alright?" Dave asked.

"Yeah I think so." Sammy said as the girls all shakily hugged one another.

"I could have handled it." Yasmina muttered.

"I'm sure you could have." Dave agreed before tapping the unknown girl on the shoulder. "Hey, we've got to head so go find your grown-ups and don't leave their line of sight k?"

"My 'grown-ups?'" she repeated.

"Ugh, parents, grandparents, siblings, aunt, uncle, fosters I don't know!" he snapped at her, his frayed wits end beginning to show. "I didn't want to assume. Just find your tall people and don't leave their side!"

"We'll walk her back." Yasmina declared as they turned to leave.

Dave was beginning to argue that they had to go, and now when a shrill whistle caught his attention. Turning he saw a lifeguard diving into the water after a flailing Kenji. Dave felt like he was not only losing control, but his mind as well as everything unraveled all around him. Then he spotted Ben, good old reliabel Ben, reading on his own, never the cause of any trouble. Yeah Ben was definitely his new favorite camper he thought in a moment of serenity amid the chaos before it all came rushing back. Wondering how exactly he was going to pull everything together now a loud shout from behind him put his mind at ease.

"Camp Cretaceous campers!" Roxie yelled, her hands cupped around her mouth. Suddenly all six of them turned, including Kenji who had miraculously discovered he could stand on the bottom of the pool. "Bring it in, let's go!"

And that was when Dave realized why they worked so well together, he might have been the heart, but Roxie was, well, Roxie was everything else. Gradually all of the kids made their way to the counselors, where Roxie motioned to Dave to take the lead. He opened his mouth to say that it was time to go home when an announcement for the Tyrannosaurus Rex feeding cut in through the loud speakers dotted around Jurassic World. Immediately Darius started begging, the others quickly following suit. 

Dave looked to Roxie who shrugged, "This is your rodeo, I'm just here to watch."

The man leveled his gaze at the tipsy boy who smiled back. "Are you good?" he asked.

"Best I've been all summer!" Kenji replied.

"Fine." Dave agreed against every last ounce of reason left in his body.

"Woo! Let go do touristy shit!" Kenji hollered, as they all slipped on the extra shirts Dave had grabbed and headed for the exit.

Half dead by the time they got back to the treehouse that night Dave collapsed onto the couch. At least they had fun, he told himself, face buried in the cushions. They were all drained, and a little sunburned, but very happy by the time all was said and done. Now all the man wanted to do was sleep.

"Hey, oh great leader." Roxie yawned from the recliner. "I don't mean to interrupt, but you've forgotten something fairly important."

"What?" Dave mumbled.

"What are we feeding them for dinner?"

The only response Dave could muster was a whimper...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is concerned they had spaghetti... And the following day everyone was too pooped for rock climbing so they cancelled it.
> 
> Lol thanks for reading! :D


	13. A Shell for Two

-CC Day Twenty-Two-

The warmth of the fire's glow on her face did little to assure Sammy that she was safe as the girl was acutely aware of how open and exposed her back was to the dark of the night that surrounded her. Heart rate steadily picking up speed as she sat listening with awe, the Texan couldn't remember being so frightened by a campfire story since her uncle told her and the boys about the Ozark Howler when they were kids. Pulling her knees to her chest, overwhelmed by the unnerving sensation that something might reach out and seize her from under the bench at any moment the girl glaced about to reassure herself that she wasn't alone, and to see if Darius' story was having a similar affect on the others.

Cute, she thought when she noticed an eager faced Kenji, grudgingly and stealthily offer his hand to a trembling Ben. The other boy who didn't break eye contact with the story teller hastily latched onto his arm at the invitation. Brooklynn on the other hand didn't seem quite as invested, but really that was her loss, Sammy observed, because Darius was one hell of an orator. Turning back to the boy in the hood as he leaned forward, grim faced and sinister in the firelight, his tone drew Sammy in, tense and on the very edge of her seat.

"We thought it'd be fun. We thought we'd be safe, but we didn't realize the horror that was waiting for us on the island, claws, teeth, screaming... so much screaming." Darius said lowly.

"How much screaming?" Ben asked with trepidation.

"Shh he's getting to the good part!" Kenji snapped.

"The T-Rex stalked closer, her jaws open wide-" Darius said, arms opened for affect, his shadow casting an ominous presence on the wall behind him as the fire crackled viciously. Oh God, Sammy thought, curling tighter in on herself, this was it!

A sudden flash in the night seared Sammy's eyes as she and the other campers blinked back the unexpected glare. Ripped from the tale terror and dispair they all turned to look at Brooklynn. The pink haired girl sat one leg folded beneath the other her undivided attention on her phone screen. "For the blog," she explained, before waving the boy in yellow to continue. "Keep telling your little story."

Rekindling the mood Darius drew up the hood of his jacket and leaned forward. "Dang out of space! Wait, I'm sorry." the influencer said earning a groan from Kenji. "I just don't want to delete my selfie on Everest you know?" she asked turning the phone towards Sammy.

"Oooo!" she smiled. Sammy had already seen it before, it was a good picture, and had been an exciting expedition to follow along with, but tonight the cowgirl gushed out of sheer politeness because while she was deeply invested in the story and couldn't wait to hear what happened next, Sammy felt obligated to peruse the gallery Brooklynn was now scrolling through. Not wanting to be rude either of her friends the girl found herself caught between a Rex and cyber place.

"Maybe I should just start over." Darius mumbled, clearly let down.

"No! In fact we should just stop!" Ben argued clinging to Kenji like a baby possum.

"Dude chill he's not even telling the story, and how is your grip this strong?" the older boy asked trying and failing to pull himself free.

"So the T-Rex stalked clo-" Darius began again, when a thought occured to Sammy so strongly that she couldn't keep from blurting it out.

"Shouldn't we invite Yasmina over?" she asked turning to look at the lone wolf of the Camp Cretaceous pack. The girl in question stood against the railing, staring out across the nocturnal landscape. "I'm sure she'd love this story, you really are a great story teller by the way. Oh, maybe you should go into writing or something!"

Flopping back onto the bench Darius didn't seem to want to hear her input on the matter, annoyed that everyone kept stealing his thunder, and now the cowgirl was left feeling bad for hurting his feels. "Sorry." she added though it did little good.

"Maybe she just wants to be by herself." Brooklynn said apathetically as she uploaded a photo she had forgotten about to the cloud.

"Yeah, you know how sometimes people just wanna be left alone." Kenji intoned irritably, clearly regretting his momentary act of compassion, as Sammy noticed he often did, the weirdo.

"Besides she doesn't seem like a real people person, you know?" Brooklynn mused.

"I think she's just shy and doesn't know how to make camp friends." Sammy countered.

Brooklynn laughed. "Yasmina making any kind of friend camp or otherwise would definitely be a sign of the end times. And there is nothing shy about that girl or have you all forgotten what a major B she is?" she went on, keen to insure that Canyon Convivial would be forever remembered in infamy.

Sammy was getting ready to come to the runner's defense and remind Brooklynn that she wasn't exactly innocent in the whole situation either, when Ben beat her to it. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "She's always been pretty nice to me, a little rude sometimes sure, but overall, I think she's a nice person. I like her." Brooklynn cast a glare at the boy who withered in his seat beneath her gaze. "Sorry..." he muttered.

Without warning lightning split the sky, rolling thunder following immediately afterwards. Heart hammering for reals this time Sammy got up racing after the others as a deluge opened up over their heads. Shaking the water from hands before sweeping back her wet, clinging hair the girl smiled as she watched her friends filing in, the same expression of equal parts dismay and excitement on almost everyone's face. Then she noticed Yasmina, trying to use her sleeve to dry the cover of her book. It seemed like a futile, but desperate move to Sammy seeing as Yaz was just as soaked as the rest of them.

Grabbing a random throw blanket from a nearby chair Sammy sat down next to the athlete, holding it out towards her. "Here." she smiled.

Yasmina looked at the offered cloth for a minute before taking it. "Thanks." she muttered utilizing it right away.

"No problem." Sammy beamed inspecting the blank cover with interest. "Is that a scrapbook?" she asked. "I love scrapbooking! Oh, maybe we can make one together?" she asked nudging Yaz enthusiastically.

"Um, how about no?" Yasmina grumbled, sliding across the cushions, and putting a physical distance between them. "You tried this whole song and dance routine before, remember?"

"Yeah," Sammy smiled. "But I was such a ding-dong, and I ruined things. I mean, come on Yasmina it's been three weeks and I feel like we met only yesterday!" she exclaimed. "I know literally next to nothing about you girl! Well, you know, except that you're a crazy successful olympian hopeful, you've got a killer eye for cosmetics, I mean dang! Let's see, you've got a temper, like baby animals even though you won't admit it, and aren't afraid of a fight that's for sure! But that's it, that's all I really know about you!" she went on listing all of the qualities she'd seen and admired from a distance.

"Yeah, ever stop to think that, that's intentional." Yasmina turned on her, brown eyes narrowed angrily. 

"Come on!" Sammy laughed falling backwards onto the sofa with exasperation. "Come out of your shell!"

"Look, I'm not here to make friends airhead, I'm here for the sponsorship." Yaz snapped. "This whole stupid summer camp thing is just the spring board that will launch the rest of my career as an athlete. Nothing more. So leave me alone."

Feeling rejected, a hollow place opening up in her chest as she watched Yasmina stalk angrily down the hallway Sammy couldn't help but wonder what she had done wrong. Sitting by herself she stewed for a while, replaying every conversation or interaction the two of them had shared in her head, trying to weed out her mistakes. She really was an airhead, she thought sadly, recalling each and every time she had tried to get closer to Yaz, only to inevitability push her further away. 

Angry for getting all misty eyed at the thought, she had to remind herself that she wasn't here to make friends either. She was here to save the ranch, and her family. She wiped her eyes fiercely until the pent tears of all the built up pressure, anxiety, and overwhelming dread that mingled with her Yasmina failures stopped. Crying was for in the shower, she told herself bitterly, always had been.

The sound of Darius, who was mostly recovered from his slight, calling her name from the kitchen followed by the oh so magic words "banana split," broke Sammy out of her funk however. Laughing she hurried to join the others as they destroyed the freshly cleaned countertops and table with ice cream and condiments, before the rowdy group was chased out, Roxie hot on their tails when she saw the mess they had made. Well, maybe there was time for friendship and saving the ranch, she reasoned.

The following morning breakfast went on as it's usual chaotic self with Kenji inventing the pancake breakfast burrito, and trying to muscle everyone else into trying a bite of the eggy, syrupy, bacon laden trainwreck. Though, through all of the hilarity and commotion Sammy noticed that Brooklynn wasn't eating this morning. It worried her, big-sister instincts tingling like crazy. The girl hardly ever ate much of anything, Sammy had made note of, but lately all she did was read over her comment sections with chagrin sipping black coffee and brooding. 

Being an avid Brooklander herself Sammy was well aware that not everything was exactly kosher in the world of the internets. Trolls were out in force lately, and everyone was a critic constantly tearing Brooklynn down, ripping apart her videos, and leading the way in a negative trend against her. Brooklynn had gone viral again, but not in the good way as people crawled out of the woodwork to denounce her as a fraud and a liar.

"Y'all are just jealous." Sammy had tried to argue in one post, taking the flame war by storm, but she had been outnumbered, and outmatched. Breaking someone with words was always much easier to do than to build them back up again.

"Hey," Sammy smiled following Brooklynn out of the dining room. "Kenji ruin pancakes for you too?"

"Yeah, something like that." Brooklynn murmured walking slowly, eyes fixated on her cell.

"I can whip you up something else, I'm sure Roxie won't mind." Sammy offered. "Omelette?"

"No."

"French toast?"

"No."

"Regular toast- oh no wait! Buttered toast with hot coco!" Sammy closed her eyes and clutched her hands over her heart as she fondly remembered the way her mother would dote on her when she was little. "My mama always made me and my sissies hot coco and toast when we were sad or not feeling our best. Well, except for Ana but that's because whatever milk does to her stomach, it is not natural let me tell you!"

"No! I don't want anything!" Brooklynn shouted with irritation. "God, can't you just leave me alone?"

"I'm sorry," Sammy muttered, batting a thousand today. "I was just trying to help."

Not long after breakfast Dave and Roxie loaded everyone up and drove them to a large field where a ginormous herd of different kinds of dinosaurs were lumbering around aimlessly. After watching from a distance for a minute or two Sammy could pick out the folks riding around on ATVs along side coasting the animals as they went. The cowgirl recognized immediately what they were doing, a broad smile coming to her face, it was a cattle drive! 

"We get to drive gyrospheres?" Darius asked his face plastered against the glass of the nearest one as he peered inside.

"Saddle up dudes and dudettes, because we're going on a cattle drive, only with dinosaurs, it's a dino drive!" Dave called loudly, confirming the girl's suspicions.

"And just to be clear all of these dinosaurs are herbavores, right?" Ben asked, adjusting his fanny pack with unease.

"Well," Roxie chimed in after exchanging a playful look with the other counselor. "They only chewed on the last kids a little, so we're like ninety-nine percent sure they're cool." Ben cringed away nervously, while the woman went on to explain where the animals were being moved to, and why. Though just by looking at the ground and lack of new growth it was fairly easy to see that they had to give the area time to reseed.

"Are you kidding me?" Darius shouted with excitement. "Dinosaur migration patterns are my jam!"

Sammy couldn't help but snicker when Kenji put a hand on his shoulder and said, "You may want to consider a new jam bro." Before asking about rain. Ignoring his bravado Sammy was already trying to come up with a plan to ride with Yasmina, certain that the runner would be more inclined to open up one on one.

"You're riding with Ben as a passenger." Roxie announced to Kenji who wasn't taking the news well, or quietly for that matter either.

"Think of him as your designated driver." Dave added with a smirk.

"Live it up, tough guy." Roxie smiled.

Poor Ben, Sammy thought, being used as someone else's punishment must not feel very nice, she thought giving him an apologetic smile. Then, waving to Brooklynn who sat in a sphere already Sammy was wondering how she was going to make up for this morning but the other girl was already too distracted by tech to acknowledge her efforts. Oh well, at least everything was working out so far, she thought hurrying to catch the open seat in Yaz's gyrosphere.

"This is going to be so sick." Yasmina said to herself.

"Right?" Sammy asked climbing in beside her. "Now we're in a shell together, a shell for two!"

Once things got rolling Sammy found herself gazing up in awe and wonder at the massive animals try trailed behind. "Whoa, would you look at that one!" she laughed pointing across the console to a little critter that had some serious pep in its step. Darius probably knew the names of each and every one of them, but all the cowgirl knew off the top of her head was the stegosaurus. "Darius said that kinda long neck is an apatosaurus right?" she asked, though her question would remain unanswered.

"So, what's your favorite color?" Sammy asked after a while, trying to break the ice. "Favorite food? Oh favorite color of food?"

"Orange, orange, and orange." Yasmina replied monotonously.

"You're funny." Sammy giggled looking at the girl from the corner of her eye. "What do you and your friends do for fun back home?"

Yasmina sighed, but seemed to realize there was no getting away this time. "I train, alone, quietly."

"Seriously? That's real sad." Sammy observed, before breaking into the usual small talk pets, siblings, movies, and hobbies, the Texan doing almost all of the talking while the other girl quietly and irritably focused on driving. "You're like one of those mystery noir women from one of those old black and white detective movies, so mysterious, so aloof!" Sammy said after a bit. "Cool as a cucumber, and cute to boot!" she cringed at her own choice of words, heart fluttering when Yasmina looked at her.

"If you knew the real me you wouldn't be trying so hard to be friends." Yaz muttered.

"That's exactly why I'm trying so hard, because I don't know the real you!" Sammy practically shouted, throwing her head back. "Come on, we made such a great team at the pool the other day! Kicking ass, taking names! Why won't you just talk to me? Or, it doesn't even have to be me, why not make friends with someone, anyone? You and Kenji seem like you have a lot in common." Yasmina scoffed with offense. "Or you and Ben, you're both the quiet type. Come on, what's holding you back? Why are you so afraid to make friends?" Sammy pushed and prodded, her own annoyance at the situation getting the better of her until Yasmina finally snapped.

"Because I'm Muslim! Yeah that's right you better be careful, I might just turn this sphere around and drive us straight into a building! Ka-boom! Take us out in a blaze of righteous glory!" she screamed tears coming to her eyes. "Because that's what we do, because that's who we are, and that's why everybody, and I mean everybody hates us!"

Tension filled silence flooded the large glass ball as the girls stared out at the rolling field of grass and the large majestic animals Sammy now wished she'd been paying more attention to, rather than rubbing up against Yasmina's nerves like sandpaper, or a cheese grater... or a jackhammer... 

The soft sound of Yaz trying to defiantly sniff back tears ate at the ranch hand. She had to make this right somehow, she thought, to let Yasmina know that she didn't judge a book by its cover and that she understood better than most that media portrayal could be damaging and hurt innocent people all the time. 

Nervously Sammy felt like she knew what she had to do. Oh God, this never got any easier or less scary did it? She wondered eyes squeezed shut. The sound of blood rushing through her ears, and heart palpitating painfully in her chest she clenched her fists. Biting the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood she knew it was now or never, take the risk, or let things stand the way they were between them: broken beyond repair.

"I'm trans." she blurted out, suddenly feeling like she was going to vomit. The other girl remained quiet, and opening her eyes cautiously Sammy turned to see Yasmina staring at her in stunned shock. Jerking to the side as they hastily dodged a swinging tail Sammy decided to continue pushing forward.

"You've known me for a while now, and we're not exactly friends, I mean, I'd like to be, and that's what I'm trying to do, but- ugh!" Sammy groaned, tearing up herself as she smacked her forehead in frustration. Her voice always got so wobbly when she got upset, and she couldn't keep her thoughts straight or mouth from running. What was wrong with her?

"That's besides the point." she said trying very hard to remember how to breathe. "Anyway, you know me, you don't believe all the terrible things the media tells you about trans people right? You don't think I'm just some creepy perverted man who just dresses like a girl just to get into the women's bathroom do you?"

"No." Yasmina shouted defensively. "And that's not fair to assume of me either! So you really do think I'm just a bitch, don't you?"

"I didn't say that." Sammy said tone even. "My point was why is it fair for you to think that I would think all of that other stuff about you without even giving me a chance?"

Another lull fell over the orb. Sammy started getting nervous because Yasmina was so dang quiet. Oh God, she fretted, she had just ruined everything. Yasmina hated her now, she was going to tell everyone, and they were all going to hate her! She gulped for air with desperation, fighting the growing panic that welled up inside.

"It's uh, it's why I wasn't exactly the life of the party at the pool." she heard herself saying, unable to keep her nervous rambling under control. "Why I just hung around in the shallow end. There are a few things I worried would make it very obvious that I'm not exactly like other girls."

"That's because you're better than other girls." Yasmina declared cutting through the noisy clatter going on in Sammy's head. The cowgirl wiped the tears from her cheek as she turned to look with cautious appraisal at her driver. "Well, all I meant was the way you stood up for that kid was badass. There were dozens of other people standing around, men, women, grown ass adults, and no one did anything to help. Not one person, except you."

"And you." Sammy added. Brief eye contact made, they both turned away shyly.

"Thanks for I don't know, trusting me or whatever." Yasmina muttered after a while.

Sammy shrugged, "You're a tough nut to crack." she motioned like she was holding a nutcracker. "So I thought maybe if I let myself be a little more vulnerable with you maybe you could let your shields down with me, even a just little?"

"We'll see."

"Thanks for, well, not exactly trusting me, but taking a chance by telling me about your faith... I don't actually know is a whole lot about Islam, but we got our little shell here, and if you don't really feel like sharing much about yourself maybe you can teach me even just a little bit about your religion?" Sammy asked, trying to lean forward and gage the other girls receptiveness.

"Why?" Yasmina asked getting a little defensive again.

"I think it's good to learn about other cultures and faiths and stuff. It helps you understand the people better and make less hasty judgments." Sammy explained, staring up at the belly of an apatosaurus as it stepped over them, vaguely wondering how much weight the sphere could handle.

"Maybe later k?"

"I'm here anytime shell mate!" Sammy grinned, her anxiety ebbing away as she elbowed Yaz. "Get it?"

"I got it." Yasmina nodded with a half smile, a win in the cowgirl's book.

An unexpected clap of thunder sounded overhead, and before they knew it Roxie had positioned the Jeep between the campers and the herd as Dave stepped out to address the kids. "Hey gang, new plan, storms getting worse so we're going to head back to camp! Fun, am I right?" Dave asked with a smile always the hype man. Everyone began to protest vehemently, this was the most fun planned outing they'd had in a while. "Don't blame me, blame the storm." Dave frowned.

"I'd blame them both." a chipper Roxie smiled sarcastically behind him, before trying to radio ahead to the keepers on the quads. Darius quickly went from arguing to sweet talking as he felt the opportunity of a lifetime slipping between his fingers. When all Roxie got over the air was static in return the campers were ordered back into their spheres and instructed to follow the herd at a reasonable distance.

"Well this is a bummer!" Sammy complained climbing back into the passenger's seat.

"Tell me about it." Yasmina muttered.

They rode along quietly for a while until Yaz spoke up, "If I tell you something, it's not gonna leave this stupid hamster ball is it?"

"Course not." Sammy smiled turning towards her with interest, exchanging secrets was a step in the right direction towards friendship.

"Do you swear?"

"I swear, cross my heart!" Sammy promised, marking an X over her chest, right hand raised to God. She could tell that Yasmina was getting herself really worked up, as she blinking back tears. Reaching over Sammy put her hand on top of Yaz's while she drove. She could feel the other girl trembling. "I promise." she vowed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm ga-" Darius and Brooklynn veered in front of them without warning. Cut off Yasmina coasting them towards the right to avoid a head-on collision. "What the hell?" she shouted, then she saw it, one of the big topsids breaking away from the others.

"Wait are you guys going after her?" Sammy asked the other teens, a hand pressed against her ear piece. "I've seen cattle spook before I really don't think that's a-"

"Scary-cat." Yasmina remarked, turning the control stick to the left, making a hard turn after the others.

"Yasmina please, someone could get hurt!" Sammy argued, but something had changed, the other girl had brought her shields back online after one botched attempt at opening up. "Let's just everybody settle down a bit we don't want to-" her words were cut short as they turned in a jarring evasive maneuver.

"Watch it Ben you almost hit us!" Yasmina yelled.

"It wasn't me!" the boy shrilled over the comms looking back at them. "You're going to get us both killed!"

"With you driving we'll die of-" Kenji's voice came on for a moment before cutting out again. The girls watched as their orb swerved, zigzagging across the grass at the boys fought for control of the vehicle.

"Somebody flank her on the other side and we'll get her back to the herd!" Darius called to everyone with excitement.

"Wait you'll scare her-"

"Let the big dogs handle this cowgirl, sino-sandwich baby!" Kenji called loudly as they boxed the poor animal in.

This was going to go bad, real bad, Sammy could feel it in the pit of her stomach but it felt like no matter what she said no one wanted to listen to her. Everyone was too thrilled by the chase and enamored with the thought of being heroes to heed the only one among them who actually knew how to handle this kind of situation.

"I'll cut her off. Everything will be fine Sammy!" Darius called to her.

"No this isn't the way to do this, you're going to make her bolt! We've got to calm her down!" Sammy argued, as the sinoceratops did exactly what she said it would. "We've got to stop her before she goes and spooks the rest of the herd, stay on the outside-"

"We got this!" Kenji said speeding past them.

"Relax, Darius knows dinosaurs." Yasmina added joining the persuit. 

Just then the animal rammed Darius and Brooklynn's sphere, knocking them into the herd, frightening the other animals and sending them into a panic fueled frenzy. The six campers dodged and weaved their way through the fleeing animals, harried by sharp horns and swinging tails as they did. Spurred on by the stampede behind them the campers sought refuge in a thick standing of trees.

"Low branch coming right at us!" Sammy warned.

"I see it let me concentrate!" Yaz said just before driving them into a log. Trying to back up Yasmina then struck a downed tree before stopping.

"Are we alive?" Sammy asked, dizzy with all the motion and adrenaline. Looking around it became quickly apparent that they were trapped.

Getting out the two of them began clearing away branches and debris. Pushing all of her upset at not having been heard aside Sammy looked back over her shoulder. "Good news," she smiled. "This gives us a lot more time to get to know each other."

"Let's do that," Yasmina agreed sarcastically. "Later, much, much later."

"Help can anyone hear us?" Brooklynn radioed over the comms desperation clear in her voice. Sammy and Yaz rushed to their ear pieces. "We're stuck in a mud hole and we're sinking fast! Help!"

"Brooklynn, can you hear me, where are you?" Sammy asked, static filled the line. Panicked she and Yasmina began calling for the friends through the jungle, nothing. "Keep clearing away the- No! Pile it up just keep piling it up!" Yasmina ordered as a thought occured to her. Working together the two of them built a makeshift ramp that finally allowed them to escape.

They were frantically searching for the dire pair when Ben and Kenji crossed their path unexpectedly. Leaping onto the smaller boy Kenji knocked him out of the way, avoiding what would have been a very serious, if not fatal crash. He tried to appear suave and cool when he got back up, but Ben clung to him like a drowning man to a life preserver.

"Get in!" Sammy demanded opening the hatch doors.

Crammed like sardines in the rapidly shrinking space that was the girls' gyrosphere the quartet searched frantically for their friends. When eventually they found them Sammy's heart dropped. Without hesitation both Yasmina and Kenji bolted the instant their doors had opened and began pushing and heaving against the side of the sinking vehicle, their hands quickly becoming slick and caked in mud. Listening to Ben frightfully trying to reach the adults for help, his voice high and pinched Sammy took stock of their plight, circumstances dire.

That was when Sammy spotted her, the sinoceratops, and an idea, a crazy, wonderful, diabolical idea came to her. If man power wouldn't work, maybe dino power would? Approaching the animal with caution, as Kenji and Yasmina scrambled away from the quickly sinking craft she picked up a tree branch from the ground. She was scared, body wracked with a tremor, tears in her eyes, as the beast let out a bellow that shook her to the core. 

Please don't charge, please don't charge, she repeated uneasily in her head. Her eyes locked on the single large horn at the end of the animal's nose, she dreadfully recalled the summer when one of their hired hands was badly gorred by a bull, flipping end over end like a ragdoll through the air. She didn't even want to think of the damage that very large, very sharp horn could do.

"I know," she whispered to the topsid free hand held out so it could scent her. "It's hard to trust strangers, it's a scary world out there, but I'll trust you, if you trust me... I'm not going to hurt you."

Her fingers brushed warm scaly skin, trailing down a long sharp beak. Letting out a sigh of relief as the animal began to eat the cowgirl knew that there was no time to waste and set to work hastily lashing vines together to make a sturdy lifeline.

"Hurry Sammy!" Ben shrieked as Darius and Brooklynn sank deeper and deeper into the bog.

Handing the vines to Yasmina who rushed past the panicked boy and tossed the rope up to Kenji before grabbing her long stick had getting into position. Kenji, who like Ben was having difficulty reigning in his emotions at this literal life or death situation wiped his tear streaked face with his sleeve, before throwing with good aim the makeshift rope down to the trapped campers who signaled that they were securely tired down with a thumbs up.

Luring the sino towards her with the promise of food Sammy smiled as her plan worked and the animal did all the heavy lifting for them, like it was nothing. Yaz jammed her stick into the side of the door and leveraged it open, revealing their two very dirty, but very relieved friends. Yasmina let out a wooping call before falling back into the ground. Soon they were all hugging, and celebrating jumping up and down their hearts filled to the brim and ready to explode with a death defying energy that was one part gratitude, one part seer exuberance, and one heaping dose of denial as to how serious everything had actually been, reality overshadowed by their victory.

"Cowgirl for the win!" Kenji shouted hugging the girl when she came over to join the others. It was then that Dave and Roxie found them sitting stunned in the truck, trying to piece together what had just occurred.

Watching from the background as everyone did a quick recap for Brooklynn's channel Sammy was just glad that everybody was alright, and thought briefly about joining in. Then, she remembered. Glancing about suspiciously she retrieved a small sample bottle from her back pocket and collected a swab from the inside of the animal's cheek. Between this, the dimorphodon blood, and all the other stuff she'd gathered for Manta Corp she prayed it was enough to save her family.

Banished to their rooms the second they got back to camp Sammy lay there, staring up at the mattress above her, trying to collect her thoughts. Today had been, today had been something else. Catching sight of Yasmina sitting on her bunk quietly with her book, Sammy remembered that she had been in the middle of a confession of some sort when all hell broke loose. Watching her for moment, she couldn't help but wonder what that was. She felt like she knew the answer, familiar with a coming out when she saw one but couldn't be sure, and didn't feel right assuming.

After dinner the teens were allowed to wander the treehouse unencumbered and still mulling over the day's events Sammy found herself standing on the balcony alone, watching as the rain that had been so fierce and wild while they were confined to bed now drizzled lazily over the jungle. She turned when her shellmate appeared at her side, with a nervous smile.

"I..." she began, only to stop and bite her lip. "If everyone had listened to you, if I had listened to you we wouldn't have had any problems... I'm not so great at trusting... People..." she admitted cringing at herself, and tapping her book against her forehead. "So my favorite color is black, my favorite food is pizza, and this is what I was doing before."

Sammy felt honored as Yasmina opened the book and handed it to her to look at. The pages contained several sketches of dinosaurs, including a man eating Rex bearing yesterday's date that earned a warm smile from Sammy, she had been listening to Darius' story after all.

"I started drawing to kill time during track meets, I'm not very good so you probably won't even like them." Yaz muttered.

"I don't like them, I love them!" Sammy beamed flipping through the pages, seeing still lifes of various objects, a building or two, a drawing of Yasmina's family. So she does have siblings, Sammy thought to herself before turning the page again, and stopping, eyes wide, heart fluttering like mad.

"Wait no, don't, some of those are private!" Yasmina shouted reaching to take the book away.

Sammy stepped back out of the other girl's reach. There on the paper was a rendition of her interaction with the sinoceratops. It wasn't finish, the animal itself drawn well but appearing rather crude when compared to the amount of care and detail had been put into Sammy herself. 

"Is, is this how you see me?" Sammy asked swallowing past a lump in her throat, as she traced the danty looking lines of her fingers reaching for the sino. They don't look like man hands, she thought comparing the real thing to the drawing, and finding that maybe they weren't so bad in real life either, she just couldn't see it until someone showed it to her. "I'm so... beautiful!" Sammy gushed.

Unable to contain herself, stomach full of butterflies before she even knew what she was doing Sammy threw her arms around Yasmina and pulled her into her kiss. 

"What are you doing?" Yaz gasped, eyes wide as she took a quick step back and pushed Sammy away. 

Shame and regret flooded through the Texan who hurried to apologise, but found her breath stolen away when a formerly retreating Yasmina rushed back to her, warm glossed lips pressed against Sammy's. Everything felt right in that moment as they embraced, until Yasmina moved away again. 

"I can't do this," Yaz muttered tearily, fingertips tracing her lips. "I've gotta go I- I can't do this!"

"What about curfew?" Sammy called after her as the athlete took off running.

"If they can catch me, they can hold me to it." Yasmina called back over her shoulder.

Torn apart by a raging torrent conflicting emotions Sammy clutched the sketchbook to her heart as she watched the other girl disappear into the dark. Tearily she made her way to the girls' room where she froze in the doorway as she saw Brooklynn reviewing her vid, she'd caught Sammy's espionage on camera. Backwash of anxiety, and a reappearance of dinner constricted Sammy's throat, it was all over now, she thought.

Trying to play it cool however, she marched straight in, tossed Yasmina's book onto her bed and flopped down on her adjacent bunk throwing the blankets over herself as she did.

"You alright?" Brooklynn asked coyly, swiveling in her seat towards her.

"Yeah, just got a little too wet and cold is all." Sammy lied before testing the waters. "You good?"

"Oh, I'm great!" Brooklynn larked, before getting up and leaving.

What felt like hours later, laying in darkness and solitude, ensnared by her preturbing thoughts Sammy was teetering dangerously on the edge of a blade. On one side was the immense pressure and realization that she had just failed her family, on the other brooding ruminations of how she'd just fucked things up between her and one of the, strongest, smartest, prettiest girls she'd ever met, both sides condemning her wholely. She startled, though tried to maintain her guise of sleeping when the door burst open.

"You're lucky I haven't told Roxie about this, yet, or you'd be out of here first thing tomorrow!" Dave was yelling at someone under his breath. "I can't believe you Yasmina! I had to drive around for almost an hour looking for you! Do you know how scared I was? What were you thinking? You know what," he interrupted himself. "I don't care. Just go to bed!"

He shut the door roughly as he stormed out, Sammy trying to calm herself after hearing the altercation, new upset mixing with the turbulent storm within. She heard Yasmina walk up to the ladder at the end of her bed before hesitating. "Hey," she called appearing at Sammy's side. "I know you're not sleeping, you snore like a bear."

Turning over Sammy looked up at Yaz, misty eyed. "Hey."

Before she knew it Yasmina was crawling into bed with her, wrapping the blankets around herself greedily. That was when Sammy noticed how the other girls teeth were chattering. "Is this ok?" she asked as she shivered, soaked to the bone from her time in the light rain. "I just want to talk."

"Yeah," Sammy nodded, tucking her arm under her head. "It's fine."

"I'm sorry about earlier," Yasmina began. "I-" she paused eyes squeezed shut as she battled against her tears. Sammy gave her what time she needed. "I like you." she confessed, making Sammy smile uncontrollably, it took everything within her not to interrupt and proclaim her own feelings as Yasmina continued. "But in Islam..." her breath hitched. "If my parents... If my parents knew I was with another girl? It's so hard trying to live up to what everyone else wants and needs from me when I just want to be happy... I mean, I know who I am, and I'm proud of being myself, but I'm just not ready to lose them yet, because I will lose them Sammy and I'm so scared of losing my family! I just-"

"I understand exactly how you feel." Sammy said as a few tears escaped.

Yasmina looked confused for a minute before she burst out laughing. "Oh my God, I already forgot!"

The two laughed for a minute before Sammy in a state of euphoria said, "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!" there was a pause.

"I just don't want to lose them, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Sammy nodded. "But, take it from me, being true to yourself is worth so much more than all the heartache the world can throw at you, and trust me, that bitch has one hell of a throwing arm, but being happy, being yourself for the sake of no one else but yourself is worth it."

They lay there at ease for several minutes picking out each other's facial features in the dark, gladdened by their nearness to one another before Yasmina broke the spell. "I can, go back to my own bed now."

Settling in and tugging the comforter over her shoulder Sammy shook her head. "Nah, this is cozy, besides I never really got to have an actual slumber party when I was little."

"Just don't expect me to talk about boys." Yasmina laughed kicking off a fit of giggles.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Sammy added.

The two talked about a whole lot of nothing for a long while, until Sammy felt Yaz dozing off beside her. Suddenly she regretted the decision, the urgent realization that this just made getting Brooklynn's phone away from her that much harder striking Sammy full in the chest.

"Oh no..." she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has quickly become my new favorite chapter. I wasn't even aware that I was such a big Yammy fan until after I started writing it!
> 
> I don't know if that's their "official" couple name or not, but it's my name for them because they're my little sweet potatoes and I love them! XD
> 
> PSA: Y'all have hopefully seen the show and know what's coming next, but just in case this is your warning: There is only violence, death, and despair beyond this chapter... And maybe some fluff and stuff, but only as a treat!
> 
> Lol thanks for reading! Hope you liked it as much as I do! <3
> 
> Also good catch Paintedsuns! :)


	14. Indominus Rex

-CC Day Twenty-Three-

The sound of an upbeat, fast paced pop song stirred Darius from sleep. Blearily searching in the dark for the source of the noise with irritation the boy let out a groan as he stretched out on the bed. Who the hell was listening to music so loud, and so late at- Oh! Urgency gripped the teen as his mind finally registered his big brother's ringtone. Digging around in his sheets and blankets he finally fished the illusive device out from beneath his pillow.

"Mmm-llo?" he mumbled rubbing an eye with the heel of his hand.

"H-hey, were you asleep bud?" Brand said his voice going from bright to concerned. "Mom said you wanted me to call when I got off."

"Nah, I'm fine, I was just starting to doze anyway." Darius lied sitting up and trying to reorient himself with the layout of the room.

"Shit, I totally forgot about the time difference. What is it there, one, two in the morning? I'm sorry man, you want me to call back lerrr-rrr?" he asked, voice suddenly muddled.

"Uh-uh," Darius shook his head, making his way towards the ladder. "The other guys are still sleeping though, so gimme a minute, I'm gonna go to the living room."

"Cool." Brand replied before falling silent.

Climbing out of bed Darius descended to the floor, cautiously eyeing his roommates. Kenji was all sprawled out, half hanging over the railing in a way that always made Darius think he was about to fall out of bed, but he never did, and Ben was curled tightly, clenched fists pressed firm against his mouth. Counting himself lucky that neither of them had stirred amid the ruckus Darius tiptoed out into the hallway. 

Once there he ducked down low to the ground and crawled like a trooper infiltrating the frontlines, and navigating enemy territory. Brooklynn he knew had a bad habit of waking up at all hours of the night to check her status, and grinning to himself as he childishly indulged the fantasy of barbed wire and automatic gunfire the boy who was determined to have this phone call in private, stealthily made his way down the corridor. Besides he thought, Brooklynn tended to, well, make everything about herself and he just wanted a chance to tell the story for once. 

Racing full speed into the living room after he'd made it through the hallway undetected Darius flopped backwards into one of the sofas, feet propped lazily on the armrest. "So where are you right now?" he asked pressing the phone back to his ear.

"Oh, you know, living the life, eating in my car." Brand replied, the muddled sound of his voice making it clear that he was still stuffing his face as they spoke.

"Are you home yet?"

"Dude no, I'm starving!" Brand replied. "Made myself a McBandon and peaced out the second Taylor said jump!" he laughed. Darius made a face, a McBandon consisted of all the ingredients of a Big Mac but replaced the beef and third bun all with a hot and spicy chicken patties, Band the inventor of such a monstrosity made them before clocking out whenever he knew he'd be too late for dinner.

"So mom's not around?" Darius asked, excitement bubbling in his chest.

"Nah," Brand mumbled.

"For like, reals?" Darius asked stomach knotting as he struggled to contain himself.

"Fuck." the older boy said in a loud declarative manner.

"Ok good!" Darius practically squealed as he sat up, the knowledge that his brother would never dare drop the F-Bomb infront of their mother confirmation enough. "You're never going to guess what happened today!"

Brand let out a belt of laughter, "Well seeing as you're so afraid of mom finding out I think I can guess. So, what'd you almost get eaten by this time?"

"Oh my God Brand, just oh my God!" Darius said no longer able to sit still, all drowsiness abandoned as his mind raced, fresh adrenaline beginning to circulate at the memory. "Do you know those gyrosphere things?"

"Yeah," Brand said before the whirring of machinery sounded in Darius' ear.

Pulling the phone away he noticed his selfie camera raise as his brother tried to initiate a video call. Clicking the green button to accept the boys smiled at one another. Brand waved a french fry welding hand that blurred and pixelated on the screen. Grinning Darius returned the gesture as his brother found a spot to prop his phone.

"So like, we were all going to ride in these huge gyrosphere things, glass all the way around, perfect veiw, and we were going to be following a herd of dinosaurs as they were led to fresh grazing. Right?" he asked his face glowing with excitement in the gentle illumination of his phone.

"Right."

"Well so then- oh Brand! You should have seen them they were beautiful! Apatosaurus, sinoceratops, stegosaurus, parasaurolophus, it was like a dream come true! Well," he stopped to peer down the hall suspicionsly. "Except I had to ride with Brooklynn."

"What's wrong with Brooklynn?" Brand asked between large gulps of soda.

"I don't know, all she cares about is her phone and all the people who follow her and being popular and stuff... It's like look around you there are dinosaurs right in front of you! Like living, breathing dinosaurs!" Darius sighed hands dropping to his side for a minute before pulling the cellphone back into position in front of his face. "She's nice and all but, I just don't get her."

"She cute?" Brand asked.

"What?" Darius asked smiling broadly for no reason he could think of, irritably he tried to banish the expression. "No." he shook his head.

"Oh my God yes!" Brand laughed pointing an accusatory finger Darius's direction.

"No, she's not, she's just super annoying!" Darius protested angrily.

"Then why are you smiling?" Brand countered.

"I'm not! Well, it's not about Brooklynn, I'm just- I'm in the middle of a story here!" he said clearly getting flustered.

"So that Ben kid is just as much of a bummer right?"

"Right."

"But it doesn't bother you?"

"Not as much... No, not really." Darius confirmed, not quite sure he liked where his brother was going with this.

"Because... You like her?" Brand declared bouncing his eyebrows with with an emphatic grin.

"God Brandon I'm hanging up!" Darius half shouted, voice dropping when he remembered that the others were sleeping.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm done!" Brand yielded hands held up in a placating manner, even though he still had that stupid, infuriating grin. "Tell me what happened, seriously I wanna know."

Darius thought about ending the call, his finger hovering just over the button as he considered the ramifications, but an itch tickled at the back of his consciousness, a voice screaming within to tell his brother about his near death experience. "Fine." he grumbled, but already his aggravation had begun to dissipate.

"So we were following the herd, right?" Darius said, beginning his tale again. "And everything was going great until this storm started rolling in, like, the sky was pitch by the time Roxie and Dave decided that it wasn't safe for us to be out there anymore. So they pulled the Jeep up in front of us and told us that we had to call it quits and go back to the treehouse, but, like, the radios are out so they say to follow behind the herd and they'll go up and let them know we're pulling out, right?"

"I'm still listening." Brand smiled, and Darius realized he was doing it again. The bane of Toast Masters, and an idiot when it came to relaying something that had actually happened to him the natural yarn weaver fumbled time and again to get his point across without fretfully insuring that he was being listened to, subconsciously fearing that people would lose interest in what he had to say.

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine keep going." Brand said leaning towards the screen. "So they said you were leaving, but first they had to tell everyone else and..." rolling his hand the older boy motioned for Darius to continue his story.

"So, we were following the herd and all of a sudden this big clap of thunder just fills the air, I swear the ground shook man!" Darius said eyes wide. "Then this sino, she must have been young, an adolescent maybe, based on her size and the way she reacted, not mention the length of the eppocipital curls on the end of her frill. Got spooked and ran, so I decided to go after her-"

"You didn't!" Brand exploded with astonished laughter.

"Well she was going to get lost, or hurt or something." the little brother replied with a defensive sheepishness.

"Alright, then what happened?"

"So we, all of us, started chasing her down and... Accidentally set off a stampede..." the fifteen year old winced listening to his brother woop and holler, shifting his weight in the confines of the driver's seat and slapping his leg as he looked around, as though searching for someone else to share in his disbelief. "There's more." Darius added.

"Well?" Brand snapped.

"So we all tried losing them in the jungle and that's where we found the- Oh shit!" he gasped pacing quickly about the room. "I forgot she rammed her horn right through the glass! Sorry I'm getting ahead of myself. So we found her and Brooklynn and I were going to try and lead her back to the others."

"By the others you mean the scattered herd of dinosaurs now all separated and lost throughout the jungle?"

"...yeah." Darius muttered, only now realizing how stupid that plan had been, and how little good it would have done them.

"Just checking, I wanted to make sure I was following." Brand commented with a smug expression.

"Are you done?" Darius waited to see if there was any further commentary from the peanut gallery before he went on. "So we were going take her back when she charged us, boom! Her horn stabbed right through the glass, it would have turned us into kebabs for sure! Then she lifted up the freaking gyrosphere and shook us around I shit you not! Just back and forth, she was that strong. Then we ended up in this sink hole and that's when things got crazy!"

"Because, you know almost getting trampled and stabbed to death by dinosaurs isn't crazy enough?"

"Exactly," Darius beamed. "So we started sinking into the mud and we can't get out, we're screwed but then the others get there and make a rope out of vines or something, but we go completely under, mud starts pouring in, Brooklynn's crying, I'm scared, but somehow Sammy with her cowgirl super powers or something gets the sino to pull us out! It was like-" Darius fell back onto the couch opposite his original seat, turning to jelly and sliding down the cushions to the floor with spent excitement. "Like oh my God, did that really just happen?"

"So, first you almost get eaten by velociraptors, then a carno-something, and now the literal earth is trying to swallow you whole?" Brand asked.

"Yeah, pretty much sums it up!" Darius declared. "Don't tell mom."

The two burst out into uncontrollable laughter for several minutes before Brand, eyes narrowed affectionately in the glow of the screen smiling at his baby brother. "Hey man, I'm just glad you're alright."

"Me too," Darius confessed, noticing the way his fingers trembled while he held his phone. "It was really scary."

"How is mom?" Darius asked after a bit, making himself comfortable on the floor when he did.

"She's good," Brand nodded, waving distractedly to a co-worker as they headed to their own vehicle. "Misses you like crazy, is all choked up that her baby is gonna be all grown in a couple of days, and she's not going to be there." Brand added falling into a mocking tone of baby talk. "Poor widdle Darius-warius is gonna be a big boy!" Brand bat his eyes obnoxiously. "So have you told any of your camp friends?"

"Nah," Darius shook his head, feeling awkward to just randomly announce that his birthday was in just a few days. "I'm worried they might, I don't know make it weird or something."

"Bro, you're totally looking at this the wrong way!" Brand said in a way that made it seem like he couldn't comprehend how stupid his brother was being. "Don't worry about how they're going to make it 'weird' just think about all the free Jurassic World swag you're going to get! Come on, you're gonna be sixteen, they're gonna have to get you something, and what does Jurassic World have? Dino-merch, and lots of it. Then all you gotta do is sit back and rake in all that sweet, sweet dino junk!"

Darius giggled, "You're right, I never thought of it that way before. So, how are you doing?"

"Eh, I'm good. Me and Half-Court are gonna catch a movie this weekend, if we have the time." he yawned.

"You look tired man." Darius said.

"I am. Seriously, I don't think I can remember how to sleep anymore." Brand laughed. "It's not a thing I do now, it's just something that happens to me, sorta. Like I lay down and just, I don't know power down like a computer or something."

Darius' smile became nervous as he watched his brother yawn again. "Just don't turn off while you're driving ok?"

"I'll do my best man." Brand agreed, rubbing an eye. Scared Darius couldn't help but stare. "Hey, it's was a joke, I'm fine, I promise." the older boy tried to reassure him.

"I'm hanging up now," Darius said, his brother's vow doing little ease his troubled mind. "Call me back when you get home. Video call! I want to see that lame ass Imagine Dragons poster in your room. I'm not going to bed until you do."

"Yes sir!" Brand saluted the phone with a serious expression before he cracked. "Talk to you in a minute, bye."

"Bye."

Leaning back against the sofa Darius replayed the events of the day in his mind, seeing them with fresh eyes. Today was somehow, scarier than the raptors, and even Toro. He thought to himself, trying to reason out why. It's because suffocating would have been slow, he thought then, a slow ugly way to go... The others would have been faster. When he died he didn't want it to be slowly, he thought, eyes stinging with tears, not fading away one piece of yourself at a time like his dad did. When it was his time Darius, as he was sure everyone else on earth did, prayed that he went quickly.

Blinded with the sudden glare of the lights turning on Darius shielded his eyes, listening as a startled Roxie gasped at finding herself less than alone at this time of night. "And what are you doing out of bed young man?" she asked quickly recovering from her shock.

"I was just talking to my brother." he explained, holding his phone up for her to see. "He just got off work."

"Fine, then back to bed and don't make a habit of skulking about in the wee hours of the morning." she said irate. "You kids are in enough trouble as it is, I plan on speaking to someone about it first thing, now back to bed."

"I was actually going to wait for him to call back." Darius confessed as he got up. "Please, he's really tired and I'm kinda scared he's going to fall asleep behind the wheel. Can I stay up, just long enough to make sure he gets home alright?" the boy begged.

"Fine," the woman conceded after taking stock of the sincerity of his request. "But I'm going to stay up with you."

Walking down the hallway where the kids slept Roxie opened the door to the boys room, muttered to herself as in the dim light filtering in she conducted a bed check. "Do you do this every night?" Darius asked following her.

"Sure do." Roxie said heading for the girls room. Her brow furrowed briefly, then she shot all the way into to room with alarm, making Darius peek around the doorframe with curiosity. "Oh," Roxie intoned when she seemed to spot who she'd been looking for. "Oh dear."

"What?" Darius asked pushing through.

"None of your business, that's what!" the counselor snapped, her hand quickly covering the young man's face like a creature from a sci-fi movie she pushed him out by the head, but not before he caught sight of Sammy and Yasmina curled up in bed together.

Oh, he thought, ears feeling strangely warm.

Roxie brewed some tea and sat cross legged on the couch sipping it while Darius read the latest in his favorite paleontological magazine. A new plant had been discovered, dating back to the cretaceous era and had been named brachyphyllum sattlerae, after the famous Dr. Sattler herself! Continuing to absorb the article Darius was trying to pick out the name of the paleo-botanist that had actually discovered and later named the plant. Dr. Sattler just didn't seem like the kind of person with an ego enough to have named something she discovered sattlerae, especially now that she was married with a new surname, maybe something after her kid or-

His phone started ringing. "Hey." he answered, camera popping up like an alien eyeball.

"Hey," Brand smiled, pointing to the poster on the back of his bedroom door. "I made it."

"Cool," Darius nodded, his turn to yawn. "So I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah," Brand agreed, before rushing out. "Oh hey, you never told me the most important part of what happened today!"

"What?" Darius asked with a look of confusion.

"How that 'holy shit we're going to die!' kiss with Brooklynn was!" Brandon laughed. 

Angrily Darius hung up, a scowl on his face as he writhed with both embarrassment and frustration. His brother was so infuriating nothing happ- Glancing up the boy saw Roxie eyeing him with a weary expression over her mug. "Do I need to have a talk with the two of you in the morning too?" she asked with a tiny smirk.

"Oh my God, no! Nothing- ugh I hate him!" Darius bellowed storming off to bed.

That night Darius dreamed of his dad, and when he woke, in spite of the gaping wound in his heart caused by his loss, the boy felt oddly comforted, and whole to have remembered him from before, back when they were making plans. The last few months had been so long, and so excruciatingly unbearable that he sometimes had difficulty picturing his dad when he wasn't lying in bed slowly withering away from the cancer. Looking fondly at the photograph of the two of them together Darius clutched the raptor tooth tenderly.

"I love you dad." he smiled, slipping the necklace on.

Energized and ready to start the next day of the best summer of his life Darius didn't take the hallway to the entertainment room, instead he walked out to the balcony and ran around to the exterior door to catch everyone by surprise. "What up, Camp Cretaceous?" he asked bursting in through the double doors with a big "Woo-hoo!"

"Not in a 'woo-hoo' mood this morning, Darius." Kenji said grumpily as he swiveled around in Roxie's office chair. "Not after yesterday, trekking through a rainstorm will do that."

"We only had to walk because you crashed our gyrosphere." Ben gritted out between audible sips from a juice box, leaning forward to glare at the other boy, ducking away hurriedly when Kenji grumbled, Ben's momentary courage failing him.

That was when Darius' mood began to crumble, the tension between his friends palpable. "But today is a new day!" he enthused trying to snap them out of it. "Kayak day! Who doesn't want to paddle alongside dinosaurs, real dinosaurs! It's gonna be awesome, right?"

"Can you keep it down?" came a voice from the area behind the foosball table. Turning, perplexed, Darius saw Jayson, the intern from before, lounging in a beanbag chair fingers flying rapidly across his phone screen as he texted someone, the same grin Brand got whenever he was texting Courtney written all over his face.

"Wait, where are Dave and Roxie?" Darius asked, looking around.

"The babysitters took off!" Kenji said gliding towards him on the wheeled chair, pressing a note into the boy's chest.

Crestfallen as he skimmed the note, complete with an illustration from Dave Darius looked dismally at the stack of papers, and boxes of crayons the camp counselors had left for them. "We're still going to go kayaking, aren't we?" he asked, clinging onto the hope.

"Who knows!" Kenji replied, pushing off and rolling the other way with equal annoyance. "It's like do they even know how old we are? When was the last time you even saw a crayon?"

Taking in the room, Darius smiled to Ben who proudly turned his crude drawing of Bumpy around for critique. "I have notes." Yaz commented with superiority.

"Yasmina!" Sammy gasped nudging, and elbowing her.

That was when Darius realized how close they were sitting to one another, their knees touching. Feeling awkward for noticing something like that he turned away just as the doors erupted open to reveal an enraged Brooklynn who took stock of the campers in one, steely, aquamarine glance, arms folded tightly across her chest.

"Brooklynn, what's new on the internet superstar?" Yasmina asked, squinting in the fresh sunlight.

"I wouldn't know, because when I went to get my phone from it's charger it wasn't there!" she said stalking towards them. "Someone stole my phone."

"Maybe you just lost it, or forgot to charge it?" Yasmina said with a look of disinterest.

"Yeah," Darius nodded trying to be helpful. "It was a long day yesterday, do you want help looking for it?"

"Oh, I think I know exactly where to look!" the pink haired girl announced. "I also think that whoever took the phone might be trying to hide some of the things that are on it. What do you think, Sammy?" she asked stopping to stare the other girl hard in the face.

"Um, what?" Sammy asked nervously.

"What is your deal?" Yasmina asked, jumping up definitively from the couch. "She didn't take your stupid phone, we've been talking all morning!"

"Well then," Brooklynn smiled like the cat that got the cream. "Let's look through her bags and check that theory out!"

"You do not get to go through anyone's stuff," Yaz argued, blocking her path. "I don't care how famous you think you are!"

Darius looked to the others for help, unsure of how to defuse the situation, only to find Ben turned away from the confrontation as though it weren't happening, while Kenji leaned on the ping-pong table watching with vested interest. 

"Hey!" Jayson shouted coming over towards them. "Enough fighting. Everyone to the auditorium."

"What?" Brooklynn asked turning on him. "I need to find my phone."

"Not right now you don't," Jayson said folding his arms. "I don't care if this place is paying my way through college, I didn't sign up to babysit a bunch of whiny kids. To the auditorium, I'm putting on a movie and you're all going to sit down and shut up." Brooklynn opened her mouth to argue when Jayson asked, "Did I stutter?"

Not long after the seven of them were gathered watching as Littlefoot and Cera scrambled up a crumbling rock face, the baby brachiosaurus calling tearily for his mother as they scrambled to escape the killing bite of the "Sharp-Tooth" behind them. Beaten and bruised she did indeed come to the rescue saving not one, but both of them as their world crumbled and shook all around them. He forgot about this part, Darius thought, breath catching.

That was when he noticed Kenji sinking lower and lower into his seat, tears in his eyes as darkness and rain fell across the screen, Littlefoot calling out, "Mother!" with a lost desperation. "Get up mother, please get up." the animated dinosaur begged his mom.

"I'm not sure I can Littlefoot." she confessed, trying and failing.

Shooting up out of his chair Kenji ran out of the auditorium. Heart aching with a shared pain Darius followed after him while Jayson shouted for them to come back. "Kenji, are you alright?" Darius asked watching as the older boy wiped furiously at his eyes.

"Yeah, fine," he said, voice thick with grief and pent tears. "I just didn't want to watch that gay-ass kids movie anymore."

Unsure of how to broach the situation Darius walked up to Kenji with caution and worry. "I lost my dad..." he said softly. "If you ever wanted to talk about your mom or something..."

"Sure, great idea Darius let's exchange dead parent stories sounds like the perfect bonding activity!" Kenji yelled turning on him with rage. "You go first. What's the one thing you said to your dad that you regret most? Huh?"

Darius was taken aback, heart lanced as the comment forced him remember every instance of anger, or time he'd been inconsiderate of his dad's feelings, or ungrateful for a gift. There was so much he'd done, or failed to do, and so much he couldn't make right.

"Well?" Kenji asked throwing his arms out, as the others slowly trickled into the room. "I'm waiting."

"Jesus Kenji you are such an asshole!" Brooklynn shouted.

Just then a roar filled the air, cutting through their arguments. 

"What was that?" Sammy asked whirling around.

"A T-Rex..." Jayson said, eyes wide as he too turned towards the sound.

"Uh-uh," Darius shook his head, brows knit together as he and the others rushed out to the balcony to try and get a look. "I don't think so."

"Then what sort of dinosaur did it sound like?" Ben asked nervously trailing behind. "Friendish or foeish?"

"Where's it coming from?" Sammy asked.

"Can't see anything," Yasmina commented with frustration. "The trees are blocking everything!"

"Maybe they're moving a new dinosaur from the lab to an enclosure," Darius reasoned, his hurt still fresh as a red eyed Kenji leaned against the railing next to him. "We could probably see it from the observation tower! Could be cool."

"Wow, that's a great idea Darius what are we waiting for?" Sammy said grabbing him by the arm with excitement.

"Uh, no." Jayson laughed in a condescending way, busy with his phone again.

Deflated Darius was going to go back to his bunk and take a nap when he caught Kenji look at him, before leaning casually on the banister in a way Darius now knew meant he was going to say some epic, or epically stupid, sometimes both.

"How about yes, or we tell Dave and Roxie about how you were so dedicated to watching us last time that we were able to give you the slip, and have our little adventure with Toro?" he grinned.

"Yeah, too late for that to work on me now." Jayson countered.

"Oh, really?" Kenji asked. "And why is that?"

"Because you have no proof, and it's way too late after the fact." Jayson grinned victoriously.

"How about the scar on Toro's nose? Or the mangled food door?" Kenji smirked. "They've never taken us to that part of the park. How would we know about that of we hadn't been there? And, not to mention the timing of when Toro cut up his little nose?"

Jayson seemed ready to argue, when he closed his mouth, eyes wide and searching. "You wouldn't?" he asked nervously.

"Kiss your free ride to education goodbye!" Kenji beamed.

Squeezing his eyes shut the intern seemed to be saying a silent prayer, whether for strength, to keep his job, or to ask the almighty to strike the kids down Darius couldn't decide, but when he opened them again he said, "Fine, there and back, let's go."

"You're welcome." Kenji scoffed following their temporarily appointed leader. Darius knew from experience that, that was as much of an apology as Kenji ever gave anyone and sighed falling in line behind the others.

"But-but guys, Dave and Roxie said to stay here, its indoor arts and crafts day, we were already breaking the rules by watching the movie! We should stay and wait for them to come back." Ben exclaimed quickly claiming a seat on the sectional as though he intended not to budge an inch. "Right Kenji?" he asked as the other boy vaulted over the back of the furniture.

"If you want to stay here and draw your little dino crush go for it!" the older boy said patting him on the shoulder. "I'm gonna see me a T-Rex or a girl fight when I remind everyone that Sammy stole Brooklynn's phone. Either way I win."

"Sammy didn't take Brooklynn's phone!" Yasmina bellowed from elevator, her voice ringing in Darius' ear in such close proximity.

"Yes, she did!" Brooklynn yelled back, everyone shuffling and knocking into one another as warring parties divided within the tight space.

Kenji turned to witness the chaos he had unleashed, Darius assumed as a means to distract everyone from his emotional display, before pumping his fist in the air, "Ka-ching!"

Folding his arms and turning away in a pout Ben made it clear he wasn't following. "Fine, go on. I'll just stay where we're supposed to stay, and wait for who we're supposed to wait for, and be right where we're supposed to be!"

The hypochondriac looked around himself for a moment with anxiety, and Darius could tell he was getting ready to change his mind. Darius was getting ready to hold his hand out and stop the automatic doors of the elevator when they bounced off an expensive looking red shoe, reopening as the oldest camper slid his foot back inside nonchalantly.

"This is a bad idea!" Ben whined his limbs pulled in close as they crowded in.

"This is a great idea," Brooklynn said icily. "In fact, the only thing that would make it better is if I had my phone to record it, for my veiwers!"

"Oh my God, enough!" Jayson snapped as infighting broke out loudly between the teenagers.

Moments later Darius with the help of Kenji and Yasmina struggled against the gate surrounding the observation tower. Ben urgently trying to get them to see reason and leave when Jayson noticed something amiss. "Wait," he said looking around. "Where is everyone, there should be rangers posted here."

"Ugh," Brooklynn rolled her eyes, ignoring their supervisor as she pulled a bobby pin out of her hair. "If we're doing this then we might as well do this." she declared picking at the lock. "Ta-da!" she announced triumphantly swinging the door open with ease. 

Giddy Darius rushed to hug her, when his brother's teasing echoed in his mind, and he just kinda stopped... arms spread. The girl smiled at him perplexed returning the gesture. They shifted their hands about for a second, one going high, the other low, switching, then taking the diagonal approach. Time seemed to slow down as they preformed their awkward little dance. God, kill me now! The boy thought settling for a fist bump instead.

"Last one to the top is a rotten egg!" Sammy called cheerily.

"Later rotten egg!" Yasmina laughed sprinting well ahead of everyone else.

Darius hung back cringing at his own stupidity when Kenji punched him in the shoulder. "Brah, that was literally the most painful thing I have ever witnessed."

"I know!" Darius groaned, cupping his face with both hands. Why was it so weird now? He wondered it's not like he actually liked her or anything, it was just stupid Brandon making stupid jokes! ...right?

Soon all of the kids were panting and heaving on the top deck, holding their sides, leaning on the railing, or each other for support. "No, more, stairs!" Kenji complained, coming up second to last, right before Jayson. "It better be something good!"

Suddenly the ground shook with an impact tremor, all the kids turned to look as it was followed by another, and another. "There's something out there." Brooklynn whispered.

"Something big." Darius agreed.

As they watched the trees with mounting trepidation and fear the long sturdy neck of a brachiosaurus immerged from amid the branches. Everyone gave a sigh of relief as they watched the gentle giant make its way to fresh dining, pulling young green stems from a nearby beech tree.

"Mystery solved," Ben said getting up, "Now can all go back?"

"Seconded." Jayson agreed as the two headed for the stairs they had just run up during their race. 

"But that doesn't make sense." Darius said still gazing hard at the horizon. "Brachiosaurus don't sound like that, they're more like-" the boy held his hands up in front of his mouth, blowing through the small space left my his curled fingers. 

"I didn't quite catch that, one more time." Kenji smirked, then, embarrassed, the dinosaur enthusiast realized that the girls, all of the girls, were laughing at him. Blushing he turned away, and that was when he saw a pair of rangers running towards them arms waving frantically as they shouted up at the campers.

"Oh great I knew we'd get into trouble!" Ben sighed pessimistically.

"Calm down Ben!" Yasmina scoffed.

"Yeah, worry wort!" Sammy added turning to wink at him.

"What's that I can't hear you? You're gonna have to speak up." Kenji called down before elbowing Darius. "Don't worry, I got this." he assured.

"Wait everyone wait, what are they saying?" Jayson asked pushing his way through and staring down at the crewmen below. "Shut the fuck up!" he yelled, the tangible fear in his voice instantaneously silencing the children who had still been talking. "An asset out of containment..." he muttered fearfully. "We gotta go, come on, follow me, we gotta get out of here now!"

An agonized cry from the brachiosaurus caught everyone's attention, they all turned in time to see the animal fall. Huddling together in terror the kids watched as the foliage rippled, a large green mass shifting and moving, pulling away from the background as if the forest itself had come to life and was walking towards them. Slowly the illusion melted away as green paled and faded into white, revealing a massive red eyed beast with a row of menacing sharp teeth. Grimly they realized that it was stalking nearer, and nearer to the workers on the ground.

Frenzied Jayson and the kids all began shouting and waving to try and alert them to the imminent danger. The monsterous dinosaur rushed forward then, sweeping one of the workers into its mouth viscera and saliva dripping from it's ragged maw as in one horrendous bite it ended the man, the crush of bones and pop of cartilage sickeningly wet and loud to the children's ears.

"What is that?" Yasmina asked going weak in the knees while Ben screamed, "He got 'im, he got 'im!"

Darius watched in a state of shock as the predator grabbed the second man who was screaming, and trying desperately to get away. Bringing it's wailing prey to it's mouth the thing bit down around his shoulders, tearing and pulling as it did until the worker came apart at the torso. Entrails unspooling, hung limply from between it's teeth as a river of blood and clumps of organs spilled out onto the ground, and ran down the creature's dexterous hand, before it threw away the man's severed lower half as though in frustration.

"Dr. Wu's lab," Brooklynn gasped. "There was a dinosaur named-"

"Indominus Rex!" Sammy breathed.

"But, there's no dinosaur named Indominus Rex!" Darius arguing wracking his brain for any sort of information that might help them, unable to rip his eyes away from the carnage below.

"It doesn't matter!" Jayson shouted the first one to snap free from the enveloping trance of horror. Grabbing campers by the back of their shirts at random he began shoving them towards the zipline. "We have to go now!"

"Uh-uh," Kenji argued frozen to the spot. "Up here is safe, besides it's not like this high up it can see us."

"It sees us!" Ben wailed, ducking for cover as the Indominus broke through the surrounding gate and began pulling on the base of the tower.

The world shook before lurching to the side. Caught off balance in a moment of dread Sammy and Jayson both struck the guard rail before toppling over it. Desperately grabbing onto the young man who'd been trying to move him to safety Darius felt his nails dig into Jayson's forearm as he struggled to hold on, skin curling beneath the boy's nails like carrot peels. And then he fell.

Jayson hit the ground feet first, legs crumpling like a pair of accordions, the exposed area beneath his khaki shorts a red pulpy mass of ruined flesh and bone. Staring in a daze Darius thought, he's dead, before scrambling to help the others haul Sammy back up so she didn't meet the same grizzly fate. That was when Darius heard it, the first long, low moan. Looking he saw Jayson move, head lulling to one side, before like a marionette on tangled strings Jayson moved his broken body with sharp, disjointed jerks. He was crying, screaming in a dull unintelligible manner that reminded the boy of hunting dogs baying after a fox.

It looks like he's doing the backstroke, Darius thought absurdly as he watched the dying man trying to get up and stand on limbs that no longer existed. It was then, that focused on the teenagers above it the Indominus Rex, unconcerned with Jayson stepped on his floundering form, crushing him beneath it's weight like an insect. Thank God, Darius thought with a morbid rush of relief.

Seconds later and Sammy, pale, and trembling violently was safe on the deck at last. Everything moved in a blur then, Darius hearing his own voice without feeling like he was speaking say, "The zipline!"

Grabbing onto him Brooklynn shoved Ben into a seat where he fretted and fumbled with the safety latch until an irate Kenji fastened him in before with a massive shove sent the shrieking boy hurdling over the murderous dinosaur and down the line. Sammy, Kenji, and Brooklynn following close behind him. Yasmina was buckling herself in, as was Darius when he looked up and saw that the others had stopped without warning hanging precariously in the air, trapped.

They had to build enough momentum to disengage the safety locks, Darius rationalized, trying in vain to block out the sound of the I-Rex roaring. More weight meant more momentum right? He thought blinking back tears, stomach in knots, blood running cold with fear and adrenaline.

"You're strong right?" he asked Yasmina swallowing past the hollowed despair in his throat.

"What are you doing?" Yasmina snapped.

"Catch me!" Darius shouted running towards the girl, leaping arms outstretched he grabbed onto her, and she grabbed onto him.

The wind sharp and cold and it rushed past his face Darius couldn't breathe, eyes fixated on the blurred greenery blow, arms and hands aching from how tightly and how frantically he clung to his friend. There are a jarring thump as they collided with the others and for a split second it seemed as though Yasmina would drop Darius, but with a grunt, teeth gritted she managed to hold on.

Then, the tower fell, and with it the taught cords twisting and writhing like snakes became slack. Without warning the six campers began hurtling towards the ground. Eyes squeezed shut Darius tried not to remember what Jayson had looked like, willing the image of blood and bone to leave him.

I didn't say goodbye to Brand, he realized, I didn't say 'I love you,' I just hung up. I didn't say goodbye... And mom... Darius opened his eyes, hands flying out in front of him instinctually to break his fall.

There was pain, and then, nothing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do believe I warned y'all. I also changed the rating out of an abundance of caution.
> 
> Also for context since none of you can read my mind and know the extensive backstories I have for each and every character just about "Half-Court" is the nickname Brandon gave his girlfriend Courtney. She is captain of the girl's basketball team at their highschool and regularly schools him in the game whenever they play. 
> 
> The two of them began dating shortly before Brand and Darius' dad was hospitalized. Brand felt an immense amount of guilt for finding something/someone that made him happy while his dad was sick and didn't tell either his mom or Darius about her for a long time, though she did meet his dad who approved. They are in love and want to get married, but Brand worries he will only hold her back as he's taking a year off to work and help his mom recover financially from his dad's unexpected passing, fearing that Courtney will give up her scholarship to stay with him.
> 
> Brandon plans to break up with her if it comes down to him or her education, he does not want to be the guy she threw her life away for.
> 
> Also brachyphyllum sattlerae is real, and it really was named after the Jurassic Park character Ellie Sattler! ...yes, I'm a dino-nerd.
> 
> Well, um, thanks for reading! ...it only gets worse... 😅


	15. The Day of Reckoning: Part One

Everything hurt. Before he could even begin to perceive his surroundings Ben was keenly aware of the undeniable pain that radiated throughout his body. Shifting around with a dull ache the boy tried to sit up, only to feel the sharp pinch of the restraint still buckled around his waist. Ben looked about himself with confused disorientation as the world rocked and swayed, tilting savagely at one point like a sea tossed ship before, gradually the motion calmed. Head pounding, he found that despite all odds they had miraculously survived their fall. 

Fidgeting for a minute and finally freeing himself from the chair the teen stumbled away from his crash site until a shooting pain racing up his spine brought him back to the ground. Let out a groan Ben glanced back with an accusatory glare at the long metal rod that had previously attached his seat to the zipline. He could feel the bruise it had left beginning to form across his back. 

Heartbeat fast and thready as clarity began to settle within his mind, Ben sat with his limbs curled tight, listening fretfully for a sign that they weren't alone. Their situation dire, he blinked past visions of blood and death. Opening his fanny pack and retrieving the coveted hand sanitizer the boy coated his hands and arms liberally in an attempt to wash the impurities, both physical, and remembered away.

"Is everyone alright?" Yasmina asked, supporting Sammy who sat, hands pressed hard against the blood bubbling from a deep gash in her forehead.

"I-I think so..." Brooklyn nodded, unbuckling and stumbling towards them.

"Where's Darius?" Yasmina added in a sharp tone, brows knit as she scanned the area. "I don't see him, he wasn't in a seat, I-I dropped him... and Kenji?"

Movement in the tree above, leaves rustling loudly sent a shock of fear through Ben who gave a cry. Hurriedly backing away from the trunk he waited for the brutal death that was sure to follow. 

"It's, just, me." Kenji wheezed. His voice sounded caught, coming out in low hiccuping bursts, eyes squinted as he agonizingly crawled from one bough to the next until his grip failed him on the last leg of the journey sending the boy to tumbling the earth below where he lay sprawled on his back gasping.

"Kenji?" Ben asked nervously approaching him, hands still working frantically.

"Can't, breathe!" he gasped eyes tightly shut against the pain, tears freely flowing.

"I think you broke your ribs." Brooklynn diagnosed, gingerly lifting the boy's shirt to reveal a deep purple band that stretched across Kenji's chest and lower abdomen. 

Watching as Kenji seemed to struggle for a minute, desperately wanting air and trying to take a deep breath, Ben felt a growing sense of helplessness and despair welling within. Ben wanted to hold his hand, to try and make things better in some way as squeaky cries of pain escaped Kenji as each breath caused the VIP a deep stabbing sensation making him hurriedly exhale so that his chest would fall into a more relaxed position, but Ben couldn't. They had to go, they had to find help, they weren't safe, and there wasn't time for this! He thought nervously looking over his shoulder.

"I can't breathe..." Kenji sobbed in a low hissing whisper. "I can't breathe, it feels like I'm dying!"

"It's gonna be alright Kenji." Sammy assured carefully making her way towards them with Yasmina's help. Smiling as she settled down next to him she gave his shoulder a ruddy hued squeeze. "Just take it easy for a minute, with any luck they're just bruised."

"We don't have a minute!" Ben shrilled, circling as he looked around at the sinister jungle in which they were engulfed. "That thing is still out there!"

"And we are right here." Yasmina snapped pointing with sharp command to the ground. "And we will stay here until we find everyone, and we're able to go."

"I know you're scared Ben-" Sammy started gently.

"'Scared?'" Ben laughed in sheer disbelief. "Scared is an understatement! We just saw that thing eat people! We're alone, we're-"

"We know what we are Ben, but panicking isn't going to do us any good." Sammy continued, her voice calm, almost maternal as she spoke. "Kenji and I are hurt, my head is swimmin', we need a minute."

"And where's Darius?" Brooklynn half shouted, combing through a nearby fern.

Just then they all heard a moan. Yasmina and Brooklynn rushed towards the sound, gasping loudly at what they found. "Ben," Sammy called firmly. "Go help. I've got Kenji."

Conflicted with the urgent need to put as much distance between himself and that thing as possible, and his friends the teen looked forlornly between the girl and the way the others had gone. "Ok." he nodded, adjusting his fanny pack, mentally reviewing it's contents: sanitizer, emergency food, compass, pen, paper, duct ta- The sight of Darius sitting up, head swaying with delirium cut through the mental checklist that provided Ben with a sense of relief, backwash coating his throat as he turned away from the other boy. 

"Oh my God!" Brooklynn said tearily her hands flying over her mouth at the sight of Darius' clearly dislocated shoulder, left arm hanging limply like a spaghetti noodle.

"Dad?" the boy asked in his disorientation, looking for him.

"Darius, Darius, it's me Brooklynn." the pink haired girl said coming to kneel in front of him, unsure of how to help and afraid to touch him. Ben let out a nauseated whimper as he inched towards them, trying to look anywhere but his arm, and bloody, battered face.

Darius blinked hard a few times and seemed to come back to himself. "What happened?" he asked eyes darting from left to right and back again as he struggled to piece everything together. "The Indominus Rex!" he gasped loudly. Scrambling backwards, his left arm gave out from under him and the teen cried out as he tumbled, rolling to his injured side.

"Take it easy!" Yasmina instructed tersely, her hands on his back she helped Darius into the sitting position once more.

"I-I don't understand," Darius muttered, struggling to break free of his impact induced bewilderment. "How did we get away? What? Where are we?" he asked looking to the others for help.

"We used the zipline. You saved us, with you're stupid reckless, stunt." Yasmina said, still holding him upright, a look of respect and admiration on her face.

"Where is everyone?" Darius asked looking around, the girls grimaced, and Ben retreated a few paces at the sight, the pain clearly having yet to set in. "Where's-" Darius started again before his eyes went wide, a colorlessness coming over them, void, as all emotion drained from his expression. "Jayson..." he murmured.

"Darius," Brooklynn whispered blinking back tears as she moved closer to him. "It's wasn't your fault, you held on for as long as you could!"

"I scratched him." Darius muttered in a hollow tone as he looked at his hands, his distant look slowly giving way to abject horror. "I scratched him, so hard... It must have hurt so bad! I scratched him, I scratched him!" he wailed levees breaking under the overwhelming force of his grief, sorrow, and remorse. "I hurt him! I didn't mean to hurt him! He was bleeding! It's his blood! I hurt him!" the boy wept running his thumbs over his fingers, the others at a loss of what to do.

Stomach churning as he stared at the sticky blood, and clumps of skin that caked Darius' nails Ben moved forward and squeezed a waterfall of sanitizer over the other boys' hands. "Here." he said weakly hoping it would help.

Darius looked at him, as though the act were foriegn, alien even, perplexed as to why, and to what end he would do such a thing. Then it seemed to register, and Darius tried to bring his hands together, brow furrowed when he found the task impossible. "I can't do it!" he sobbed as the gel began to seep through his fingers. "I can't- ow! I can't move my arm! I can't get it off, I can't! I can't!" he screamed, everyone urging him to silence as a look of torment crossed his face.

"It's ok, it's alright!" Brooklynn said taking his hand in hers, Yasmina quickly followed suit on the other side. Together all previous animosity forgotten, they grimly worked the liquid into his hands, red dripping onto the ground.

Ben watched with a wry face as the girls quickly and efficiently scrubbed and scraped the blood and skin out from under and around Darius' nails as he wept. Stomach knotted Ben couldn't stand the sight of the gory manicure any longer and quietly shuffled away.

"Is Darius alright?" Sammy asked perking up hopefully, most of her bleeding under control, she was trying to wipe her face clear with the back of her arm.

"No, he's not!" Ben choked out. "His, his shoulder's messed up, but we need to get away from here! We can't wait any longer!" Hugging himself as he paced back and forth a tremor overtook the boy. There had been so much blood, and screaming, he thought, shuddering at the recollection, the wet crush of bone echoing in his mind, he shut his eyes. They all had to go, they had to run, they were all going to die if they didn't!

"Ben."

What didn't anyone understand about that? The longer they stayed out here the more chance they had of being caught by that thing! Out here they were exposed, they were vulnerable! The boy thought, tears streaming down his cheeks, fingers entangled in his hair, which he gripped tight with anxiety, airway slowly constricting.

"Ben."

They were all going to die if they didn't leave now! They just had to suck it up, stand up, and go! They were all going to die... he realized, it was so simple, yet so devastating a truth. They were all going to die. They were all going to die. They were all going to die! They were all going to die! They were all going to-

"Ben!" jarred from his fretful ruminations, by the sound of his name called pointedly, accompanied by something whipped sharply across his shins Ben jumped away, looking with a start at Kenji who had been trying to get his attention. 

"Are you ok?" the older boy asked after a moment of exchanged looks of concern, letting go of the twig he'd been wielding.

Watching the boy who was pale, and clearly still in a great deal of pain as he labored for each breath Ben realized that even though Kenji was hurt he was still thinking about him. Overwhelmed with guilt for letting his fear override his compassion and empathy for his friends who were hurt, and just as scared as he was Ben swallowed hard before answering in a whisper, "No."

Making his way to Kenji, Ben sat down, and fished the other boy's hand off the ground. Forcing himself to remain as still as possible, defying the inner voice that screamed for him to run Ben rubbing his shaking thumb over Kenji's kuckles, and offered a weak smiled. "More importantly," he started. "Are you ok?"

"Honestly, I've been better." Kenji smirked.

"You don't say?" Ben smiled, and Kenji gave his hand a squeeze.

Staggering through the undergrowth Yasmina and Brooklynn supported Darius who was visibility feeling the extent of his injuries now, arm secured in a makeshift sling crafted from Yaz's jacket. The trios looked at one another with a disbanding hope, they were broken, and alone, and-

A roar shook through the jungle, causing the birds, and even insects to fall silent.

"Where the hell is that thing?" Kenji asked nervously.

"It's coming!" Ben gasped, ducking down, bringing Kenji's hand to his forehead as he started rocking back and forth, the cold tang of anxiety taking hold once more.

"Shh!" Yasmina begged, the goosebumps that appeared on her exposed arms betraying the calm control she was trying to project. "It could be anywhere!"

"We have to go, now!" Sammy ordered, stumbling to her feet.

"The observation tower was that way?" Brooklynn asked turning anxiously from left to right. "Or maybe that way?"

"Ben," Yaz snapped shoving the light haired boy hard to gain responsiveness. "Help get Kenji up."

"Please, get Kenji up!" the boy in question said between gritted teeth. "But gently." he added as an afterthought.

"I'll take his shoulders." Sammy announced kneeling above him against Yasmina's protest. "It's just a bump on the head, I'm fine. Now, when we lift I want you to use those abs of yours, not your back and chest alright Kenji?"

"I knew you liked what you saw!" Kenji winked trying to dispell their nerves and his own anticipation of how much getting up was going to suck.

"On 'three.'" Yaz said. Ben slid his hands under the other boy's side, distractedly glancing around with dread. "Ready? One, two, three!"

Kenji let out a loud cry as with all their might his friends hefted him to he feet. Giving him only a moment's respite the six campers tore through the wilderness back towards the tree house. Pushing their wounded to their limits spurred forward by fear and the haunting call of the Indominus Rex which appeared to come from all around them they ran blindly onwards.

"Everything will be fine when we get back to camp!" Darius gasped as they half ran, staggering through ensnaring vines, and snagging branches.

Bursting through a thick standing of grass however, these words were proven to be untrue. In shock the six children stared at the remains of what had been their home for the past three weeks. In shambles the tree house had been torn to the ground. Splintered, and destroyed it appeared as little more than fire wood. Wandering about the wreckage with a deep sense of loss the campers were dazed by what they found, their near death experience moments ago colliding violently with the realization that, had they stayed, they would now be buried under all this debris.

While the others picked at the beams of wood, and bits of crumbling plaster, kicking it here and there, Ben took notice of an overturned Jeep. Against his better judgement he went to take a look.

"Dave, Roxie, the other workers, they must have all gotten away!" Sammy said hopefully.

The sight of shattered glass, twisted metal, and mangled flesh that met Ben's gaze contradicted the girl's optimistic outlook with the grizzly reality. Heart hammering Ben turned away, tripping over something he crawled away from the car. "Not all of them!" he said through the tears that sprang to life in an instant.

No, please no, no more death! Ben begged silently on his hands and knees dry heaving as Sammy came to put a hand on his back, rubbing it in slow circles while Yasmina struggled with a damaged radio to call for help.

"We're on our own." the athlete announced after a minute. 

Despair washed over the group until in frustration and rage Brooklynn turned on the Texan. "Give me my phone!" she bellowed. "I don't care that you snuck into Dr. Wu's lab, I don't care what you did with the skin samples you took from the sinoceratops, I don't even care that you stole it! All I want to do is call for help, now where is it?" she shouted causing confused murmurs to ripple through the group.

"I uh," Sammy started. "I don't know what you're talking about. Skin samples? Sneaking into labs? You made some crazy thing up in your own dang head!" the cowgirl dismissed walking towards the others.

"Back off!" Yaz warned. "Not everything revolves around you and your phone! It isn't Sammy's fault you lost it!"

"Would you guys please keep it down!" Ben pleaded looking up at them, still trying to recover from his shock. "There's a big-"

"A big scary dinosaur?" Kenji butted in, fear fueled anger taking control. "There's always a big scary dinosaur!"

"And you're always a big mouth jerk!" Ben shouted back equally unable to reign in his chaotic emotions.

"Give it back!" Brooklynn yelled. The five splintered, infighting taking over, while Darius stared up at the tree, his right hand coming to his neck in search of the comforting raptor tooth that resided there.

"My necklace." he whispered sorrowfully when he realized that it was missing. "I-I had it when-" he turned to look back the way they had come, eyes welling with tears. "When we fell..."

"Fighting isn't going to help any of us!" Ben shouted at last. "No one is getting out of here. We just saw people get eaten! We're alone, we're defenseless... We're dead." Sitting on the ground arms folded across his knees the boy started to cry, a chill sweeping through his form.

"We're not giving up." Darius announced after a minute, catching everyone off guard. "I get it," he went on taking a second to adjust his arm into a more comfortable position. "It's scary. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Things aren't always going to go your way. Life's messy, and sometimes things fall apart. But that's ok because when they do that's when we pick up the pieces, and keep going, and never give up."

"Your dad really should have been a motivational speaker or something." Kenji commented, wincing with discomfort as he approached Darius.

"Thanks." he replied with a sense of sorrow-laced pride, still tracing the front of his t-shirt.

"What about your necklace?" Brooklynn asked.

"Its not important," Darius said even as bitter tears of loss escaped him. "I have the memories right here." Carefully the pink haired girl hugged him apologetically.

"What do we do?" Yasmina asked, arms folded, jaw set with determination.

"We head south." Darius replied. "Towards the park, get help. The only way we'll make it is if we do it together. We're a team or we're nothing at all."

"Or, you know, we don't go back into the jungle." Ben said apprehensively as he got up, though all around him he could see the attitudes of the other campers shifting, they still looked scared, but ready to do something about it.

"You can wait for Roxie and Dave, but I'm with Darius." Kenji said. "We're going south, the rest of you coming or what?"

"I'm in." Brooklynn said following the hapless leaders as they achingly shuffled forward like a pair of zombies.

"We're in too." Yaz announced wrapping her arm around Sammy and falling in line.

Watching them leave Ben straggled behind, believing that it was safer to stay there. Wasn't this the first place people would look for them? He thought, besides what were the odds that it would come back? Ice filled his stomach at the thought of running into the I-Rex again, but out there, in the wild, it seemed so much more harrowing.

"Come on Ben," Kenji called back to him. "It's just one dinosaur." 

"It's just one dinosaur." Ben repeated. "It's just one dinosaur." There seemed to be power in the words as he spoke them, the knowledge of how large the island was, and how dense the jungle easing his mind somewhat. "It's just one dinosaur." he said again like a mantra, adjusting his fanny pack Ben trailed behind the group as he reluctantly followed them into the unknown.

Trekking through humid jungle for what felt like hours, the group walked in silence afraid to draw attention to themselves, even when they broke to catch their breath the only conversation that occurred was in the form of hushed, paranoid whispers. That was until Ben, preoccupied with cleaning himself, skin crawling, the need to wash it away all consuming, stepped on a twig, startling himself into letting out a little cry. Jumpy the others screamed and turned reactions varying from fight, flight, and freeze.

"I'm sorry," he said tone low. "I stepped on a twig."

"I should step on you!" Kenji hissed in pain, teeth gritted, holding his chest, color draining from his face after turning too quickly.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Darius whimpered sinking to his knees, free hand tenderly cupping his dislocated joint. "It's alright Ben," he breathlessly managed after a minute, "We're all on edge."

"Darius," Sammy said, biting her bottom lip apprehensively. "I think I can fix your shoulder." Everyone looked at the girl sceptically. "My daddy got kicked before I was born, his shoulder slides out of place every now and then. I've had to pop it back a couple times when we've been out working... I just... Don't want to make it worse."

"Don't trust her Darius, she's a liar and a theif!" Brooklynn sneered glaring up Sammy.

"He can't keep going like this, the sooner we get it back in the better!" Sammy pleaded. "I just want to help."

Watching the exchange Ben picked his way over to the group, scanning the trees for movement as he did. "Sammy's right," he muttered. "The pain should go away once we get it back, and the longer we leave it, the more chance of permanent damage."

"See," Yasmina argued staring at the pink haired girl with spite. "We should let Sammy help, she knows what she's doing."

"She only says she knows what she's doing!" Brooklynn countered.

"Yeah, but what if she fucks it up even more?" Kenji observed from the sidelines.

Meanwhile Ben noticed that the boy whose shoulder was so hotly contested had fallen silent, crying as discreetly as possible where he sat cross-legged. Walking towards him Ben got down to his level, ignoring as rocks and dirt bit sharply into his knees. "Are you alright?" he asked looking at the boy whose left cheek was beginning to bruise, the eye swollen tightly shut.

"No." Darius sobbed. At the sound the bickering stopped and they all turned towards their friend in white.

"What do you want us to do?" Ben questioned gently.

"I can't do it anymore," he replied through the tears. "It hurts so much, I-I need Sammy to try, please!" Darius begged.

"Ok," Sammy said stepping up, this time no one protested. "I need a branch that's about as big around and his wrist. Yaz, Brooklynn, can you hold him steady?"

Ben watched wide eyed and uneasy as the girls forced the branch under Darius' armpit as he cried out and struggling not to pull away or fight them. Then Ben realized that they were going to use it as a fulcrum, making a leaver of his arm and once raised would wedge it back in place. Hurriedly covering his ears, eyes squeezed shut, Ben turned away crouching down as if bracing for an explosion. He still heard the wet pop, and shrill scream that quickly died as Darius fainted from the intense burst of pain. Turning back around Ben saw a worried Brooklynn fanning her hand infront of his face, while Sammy pushed and massaged Darius' shoulder.

"It feels right." Sammy confirmed confidently swinging and rotating his ragdolled arm. "No pops, clicks, or tension."

"Do, do you think that thing heard him?" Ben mumbled.

Kenji let out an irritable sigh, "Probably, now stand up you big baby!"

"When will he," Brooklynn had started to asked when Darius groaned turning his head from side to side as he came to.

"Ow." he muttered. Testing out his arm a minute later he clenched his fist, moving it with reserved caution. "Thank you Sammy, thank you!" he enthused sitting up.

"Your muscles are still gonna be real sore, so keep it in the sling for now ok?" she smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Everyone got back to their feet and with a renewed sense of urgency, fearful of what Darius' cry might attract rushed away from the area.

"We're lost." Yasmina commented after lugging around through the jungle for who knew how long.

"Yeah we've been out here for a while now," Sammy agreed. "Darius are we sure we're still headed towards the park?"

"Well, we'd be sure of we still had my phone because it has a compass, a GPS, and is also a phone!" Brooklynn said angrily.

"I-I have a compass." Ben said with meek embarrassment, digging through his pack, ignored by the others.

"Sammy didn't take your phone!" Yaz snapped pushing her away. "No one took your phone! Can we please stop talking about the phone?"

"You guys! You guys, you guys, you guys! Can you um both yell at each other quieter please!" Ben interjected, palming the compass as he moved between the warring parties.

"My fellow campers!" Kenji announced loudly. "Chill. What we need here is someone who can make the hard call on what to do next, and since I'm obviously leadership material, I'll do this!" he smiled, the fact that he was holding his side doing little to steal his natural bravado, as the others looked at him with disbelief, unamused by his antics in so dire a situation. "And my first decree as leader is for everyone to stop talking and listen to Darius. So, which way Darius."

Pushing his way through everyone an agitated Ben handed the tool with the cracked face to his friend. "With everything that happened... I didn't think about it." he apologized when Darius looked down at the little red arrow that confirmed that they had drifted off course and back up at Ben.

Darius let out a dismal sigh, before looking around, hoping to gain some kind of barrings when he announced, "I know where we are!" Rushing away. "We're by the carnotaurus paddock!"

"I thought this place looked familiar!" Kenji grinned to the others and they hurried to catch up. "Am I an excellent leader or what?"

"I remember the fence! The broken ripped down fence..."

"That means Toro is out here with us?" Ben asked staring at the twisted pylons, and broken crossbeams with terror.

"Now we have to deal with Indominus and Toro." Darius reasoned. "Hold up, how do you know about Toro?"

"We all know," Yaz declared. "Kenji told us like, the day after it happened."

"In my defense me saving you was super cool!" Kenji defended himself, in the most Kenji way imaginable.

"Fine, this enclosure is due north of the main park, and with this compass if we keep heading south we'll wind up at the visitors center." Darius said planning it all out for them. "We're sure to find Dave and Roxie, or someone else in charge."

"Yes," Kenji agreed, "That's exactly what I was thinking, as leader, which I am. Follow me!" he said amid rolled eyes as the campers moved onwards.

Ben hung back staring at the fence, if that thing could do all of this, what hope did they really have of capturing it? "I don't think that finding an adult is going to help. A terrifying, camouflaged dinosaur destroyed our camp. No way they have a plan for that." he said to their wayfinder who had stayed back with him.

"Ben I know it's scary but this is Jurassic World dealing with dinosaurs is what they do!" the other boy beamed with blind faith.

"They didn't do so well at their first park did they?"

"Everything will be ok, trust me."

It was nearly an hour later when they stumbled across a horrific sight. A dead ankylosaurus lying in a heap near the familiar shape of a gyrosphere, though, one that had been torn apart. Light headed with palpitations Ben circled the vehicle, shattered glass crunching under his feet, how was it strong enough to do that? he wondered, though he dreadfully felt that it was better not to receive an answer.

"Predators don't kill prey and then just leave without eating..." Darius said, perplexed as he approached the dead animal, hand running along its pebbled neck. "This, this isn't right."

A sudden rustle in the undergrowth nearby sent the terrified children diving for cover. Hands over his head as he ducked behind the broken sphere, Ben closed his eyes. This was it, he thought, readying himself to die. I love you mom, I love you dad! Just then, he heard a plaintive little cry, it almost sounded like- Turning he saw her, standing alone calling for her family, Bumpy. Overwhelmed with relief that she was alright, long held fears and suspicions that she had been euthenized lifting from him, like a burdening weight leaving his shoulders Ben ran to the little animal, overjoyed, his own mortal fear dissolved in that instant.

"Bumpy!" he grinned hugging the ankylosaurus who now reached his knee in height, turning her little head so that he could get a good look at her. The intelligent light in the baby dinosaur's eyes shone back just as happy as she squeaked at, and nudged her human mother with delight.

"And droolly, and smelly." Kenji added as the others approached the cuddly pair. "How do you even know that's the same dinosaur?"

"I just do." Ben smiled. "And her big head bump." he then remarked when some of the campers appeared less than satisfied with the answer. "Dr. Wu said she's asymmetrical, but he's wrong that it's a bad thing, and so what if she is asymmetrical?" he asked rubbing around her big horn with one hand, the other giving her chin skritches that made Bumpy close her eyes contentedly with the other.

"There's nothing wrong with being different, or bumpy." Ben went on, before a thought seemed to occur to him. Oh, no. What if she had been here when it happened? What if she'd seen the other ankylosaurus get murdered? Did she know them? Was that her dino-mom? 

"Don't look. It's ok, I've got you, just don't look." he sniffled cupping his hands around Bumpy's eyes and turning her away from the terrible scene. "It's not fair!" he announced to no one in particular. "When you're little you shouldn't have to go through something so horrible like this! You shouldn't- you shouldn't have to be so scared all the time. You shouldn't have to hide how bad it hurts..." he trembled blinking back tears, unconsciously projecting some of himself onto Bumpy. "She's so tiny! Why did it have to happen to her?" he asked misty eyed, empathizing with what he was sure the baby animal was going through as she nuzzled him, knocking him into his backside, trying to crawl into his lap.

"What are you talking about?" Kenji scoffed. "This is nature, animals kill each other all the time! It's natural!"

"He's right." Yaz added a brow arched judgmentally at the boy on the ground.

"There is nothing natural about what happened!" Ben yelled vehemently. "Nothing!" There was a long pause where he stared up in angry defiance of the others, face red, before adding, "Darius even said so! And even if it was that doesn't make Bumpy's hurt go away!"

"Jesus Christ!" Kenji half shouted. "Fine, now can we get this show on the road? Big scary dinosaur, remember?"

"Yeah and Ben, I don't think animals feel things exactly the way we do." Sammy said trying to gently coax him away.

"That's because you're a cow killer." Ben muttered, chosing to ignore them he lavished affection and snuggles onto the dinosaur who had grown so much since she had fit in the palm of his hand.

"Well, I'm not spending another hour walking through the jungle hoping we don't run into that Indominus!" Brooklynn put in. "We need a new plan."

"Uh, yeah, obviously we need a new plan," Kenji agreed, earning a dirty look from Ben who was fed up with him already. "That's why I had Darius come up with a new one, lay it on us bro."

"Ok, so uh, we need to find somewhere safe close by." the other boy began, thinking out loud as he was caught off guard by his sudden new responsibility. "Camp is back that way, and the park is that way... Isn't Dr. Wu's field genetics lab near here?" he asked. "You guys went on the tour does this area look familiar?"

"Yeah," Sammy said, sounding unsure at first. "Yeah I think it's that way."

"That seems right." Yaz agreed.

"Great, then that's where we should go, there's bound to be an adult there who can help, or tell us what to do! Right?" Darius said with a tainted sense of hope. It was then that another roar filled the air.

"Fine, whatever, we'll go to the lab!" Brooklynn said. "As long as we are moving away from that!"

"What about Bumpy?" Ben asked watching as his friends moved past them.

"She's a dinosaur bro, she belongs out here in the wild." Kenji said.

"And she'll just slow us down." Yasmina added. "We've gotta go now."

Ben looked down at Bumpy who rubbed her head against him fondly before looking up at him clear feelings of love and devotion in her gaze. The teen's heart ached. He couldn't leave her, not again, not knowing that she was going to be hurt.

"But-" he started.

"Say 'goodbye' Ben." Kenji commanded apathetically.

"No!" Ben yelled surprising everyone as he jumped to his feet and stood his ground. "You say 'hello!' I'm not just going to leave her out here alone and defenseless! She's a baby, she needs someone to protect her!"

"Oh and what you're going to be the one to do that?" Kenji laughed.

"Yes, I am!" Ben shouted tearing up angrily. Fists clenched he glared at the others, daring them to argue.

Darius was the intermediary, "Ok, ok, if she can keep up, she can come with us. If we find a herd, any herd, of herbavores we leave her with them. Does that work?" he asked.

Flustered Ben looked between his friends before conceding. "Fine." he agreed in a choked tone. "See," he said turning to the little dinosaur. "I'll take care of you, promise."

After a few moments of pleading, tugging, and luring, eventually Ben was able to entice Bumpy into following them with sweet gentle words while walking backwards. After a bit he wasn't really sure what he was saying anymore, half rambling in a light singsongy voice about what a good girl she was as she happily followed after him. Bumpy who chortled and called back, stared up at the teen the entire way. It made his heart swell, and Ben couldn't resist giving his girl a head pat, reassured by her.

"This is ridiculous!" Brooklynn said throwing her head back after a while. "Ben, that's it, it was a good run, but she's slowing us down!"

"She can move faster!" Ben argued. "Ankylosaurus can run very fast, isn't that right Darius?" he asked the only ally he had previously had.

Darius looked at Ben, then Bumpy who gamboled about his feet excited to be reunited with him, and have a herd again. "I don't know," Darius said, rubbing his aching arm as he thought. "When they're fully grown maybe."

With a happy gurgling sound Bumpy headbutt Ben in the back of his legs, sweeping him off his feet, before rolling onto the ground herself, closing her eyes and dozing off without warning. Warmly reminded of Boo from Monster's Inc. Ben found himself stroking the sleeping baby's side before staring up at what felt like an execution squad.

"Wow, total speed demon." Kenji said tone dripping with sarcasm. "We're ditching it."

"No!" Ben shouted, startling Bumpy awake.

"Ben, you aren't thinking this through!" Brooklynn said pinching the bridge of her nose. "Bumpy's too slow!"

Hope slipping out of his grasp Ben looked around desperately for something, anything to help as he felt his breath hitch. That was when he spotted the van, half hidden by a thick standing of ferns in the distance. "Then, then, we'll put her in the van!"

"What van?" Sammy asked.

"That one!" Ben pointed. Everyone turned to look with amazement at the partially obscured automobile.

Hurrying over to the large black vehicle their pacing slowed at the sight of crimson staining the ground near the rear doors. Flies buzzing in an eager frenzy around a severed leg, coils of innards hanging from a nearby tree. Something, really, really bad had happened here, Ben thought, swallowing hard.

"That's... an ACU, Asset Containment Unit van..." Kenji said as they crept closer, and closer to the scene. "I got a tour of their HQ, they're super hardcore, dino-trapping security dudes..."

"I knew they couldn't have a plan for something like this!" Ben whined as they tiptoed nearer.

Taking as deep a breath as he could muster Kenji threw open the ajar rear door to reveal a blessedly empty and reenforced interior, with wing benches to the left and right. "Do you think there's anyone left?" Yasmina asked taking in their surroundings with fresh, frightened eyes, and everyone huddled close together.

"Is that a tablet?" Brooklynn shouted pushing her way through to the device and turning it on.

Following her in and snagging a radio from the floorboard Sammy began turning the knobs, "What did tell us? Oh, right. Channel six. Dave, Roxie! Can y'all hear us?" she called, only to get a violent crackle of static in response. 

"And of course this doesn't have communication enabled, because why would it?" Brooklynn complained as everyone began climbing in. "If I had my phone-"

"Enough already!" Darius shouted, hefting himself in one handed. "There are bigger things going on here than your phone!" From where he stood near the doors Ben could see the dejected look that came across the pink haired girl's face, part of him felt sorry for her.

"There's a map program with little moving dots on it." she announced then, lowering the handheld computer for the others to see. 

"They chip all of the dinosaurs electronically to track them," Darius explained, reaching towards the device. "See, there is us and there's-" a series of dots popped up on the screen.

"Wait," Kenji said brows knit. "This is the brachiosaurus grove here, so why are the brachiosauruses way over there?"

"I think maybe the fences are down, or at least some of them." Darius muttered eyes closed woefully.

Bumpy turned towards the trees then and began bleating in alarm, the sound sending a thrill of fear through Ben who crouched down and began shushing the ankylosaur, stroking her neck in a way he hoped was comforting. Bird calls and the sound of something big coming towards them shook the trees behind them.

"Guys, something's coming this way!" Ben warned the others.

"That's weird what ever it is it's not showing up on the tablet." Brooklynn noticed.

"What kind of dinosaur wouldn't have a transponder?" Darius asked.

"I don't want to wait around to find out!" Kenji said.

Listening to them talk as he tried to calm and reassure Bumpy, Ben couldn't help but feel the seriousness of what was happening had in someway escaped the others, as he watch the crowns of the jungle bend and shake with the might of the creature that approached them.

"Shut her up!" Yaz said in a taught whisper coming up behind the boy and dinosaur.

Just then Bumpy gave the mightiest bellow her little voice could muster, Ben could feel her trembling. Then, something responded with malevolence.

"We gotta go now!" someone shouted.

Ben struggled for a second but with Sammy's help was able to get Bumpy inside the vehicle. Leaping into seats everyone buckled in bracing themselves as they waited, only to realize that no one was driving. With a grunt of frustration the oldest among them clamoured into the front seat, knocking the air out of his lungs as he did. Sitting, eyes squeezed closed he let out a trembling breath.

"Please, please stop!" he muttered, tensing and relaxing, tensing and relaxing until the pain subsided some and he turned the key in the ignition, and none too soon. Muttering to himself as he repeated his driving instructions Kenji pulled away suddenly as the Indominus burst through the trees charging towards them.

"It's gaining!" Sammy screeched as the great white beast hurtled through the primeval forest behind them, teeth gnashing dangerously.

"You're in the wrong gear!" Yasmina added.

"Well how do I shift gears?" Kenji asked.

Bumpy let out a cry, leaning forward in his seat Ben's back gave a jolt. Ignoring it he grabbed onto the animal, hugging her to him and closing his eyes. "It's going to be alright!" he said. "Shh everything is going to be ok!"

"Drive!" Yaz commanded diving over the front seat and yanking the wheel.

Thrown sideways by the momentum Ben felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, desperately he held on tighter to his ward. Jostled and tossed around in the back as the van mowed down plants, tires bouncing over rocks, turning first this way and then that, the passengers all seemed to feel the same sort of distress, and haplessness to their situation. Then, without warning they were airborne, Ben's stomach doing a flip flop. They all screamed. Ben's head jarring when they hit the ground rolling. Leaving the Indominus behind roaring with defeat they eventually came to a stop against a tree.

Shaking everyone looked around at each other with a mixed sense of relief, and unease. "At least we lost Indominus." Brooklynn smiled as they all caught their collectively panicked breaths.

"Now where do we go?" Yaz asked.

"How about the genetics lab?" Ben asked gesturing towards the windshield, through which could be seen the large white building. Everyone turned to gape at him. "It's a gift." he shrugged.

As they all began filing out Ben took a moment to look Bumpy over for any injuries. Nurturing her he have a little click of his tongue, flicking a clump of mud out of a back plate with disapproval. "It's alright Bumpy, we'll be safe here. And I promise I will never, ever let anyone hurt you." he vowed becoming dewy-eyed as he looked at the baby he felt he'd had a hand in bringing into the world. "Ever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, it's been busy for me lately!
> 
> Happy New Year, may 2021 treat you all well, and thanks for reading! :)


	16. The Day of Reckoning: Part Two

The lack of scientists walking to and fro from the remote genetics lab was probably the first sign that this was niether the refuge in which to ride out the storm, nor the safe harbor where they might gain help that the children had been seeking. Still, Yasmina chose to keep these thoughts to herself in the hopes that it was merely her inborn pesimism getting the best of her. The outside of the building gave a threatening air of doom to the girl, it's sharp angular sides rising up out of the ground like wards poised defiantly against all who dared to tread, thick creeping vines winding around the concrete, competing against palms, and epiphytes, each vying desperately to claim their place in the life giving sunlight. 

Rubbing the nervous chill out of her arms Yasmina was caught by two conflicting thoughts, I forgot just how intimidating this place was, and, it's actually kinda pretty in it's own modernist meets naturalist sort of way, if things were different maybe I could have brought my sketch book.

Eventually though the campers, one mewling baby dinosaur in tow, ducked through the front doors of the lab. Trepidation, and disquiet permeated the atmosphere. The lights were out, the sterile white walls looming above the children with menace in the darkness. Glass and the brittle spliner of amber ground beneath their heels as they walked, the treasured mosquito collection toppled to the floor. The bitter, acrid reek of chemicals and cleaners assaulted the campers nostrils as huddled together they edged deeper and deeper into the dark unknown, signs that the scientists, the adults, had fled everywhere with a grim certainty.

Finding her wrist in the pitch Yasmina felt someone grab onto her. Startling momentarily the athlete was just able to make out Sammy standing beside her, pulled away long enough to readjust her hold, and then lace her fingers through the cowgirl's. Warmth and relief filled her, as she found herself walked in tighter synchrony with the other girl.

"And I thought this place was creepy with the lights on." Yasmina muttered to the group who silently agreed, eyes wide trying to discern their surroundings.

"What if there's no one here?" Darius asked still trying, and apprehensively failing, to do his best to play the part of wise and all knowing second in command, seeing as Kenji had unceremoniously dubbed himself their leader.

"It doesn't matter," Brooklynn whispered dismissively. "As long as we find a phone, or a computer, and can call for help, we'll be fine hiding out here until they can catch that thing."

"Things," Ben put in, in a whisper. "Don't forget Toro is out there too."

"Always a ray of sunshine, aren't you Ben?" Kenji commented sarcastically.

Walking through dark barren halls the athlete felt sure now that she was right, everyone was gone. Then without warning something darted towards the kids in the dark. Instinctively Yaz grabbed onto Darius who was leading the way and yanked him backwards. He gave a sharp cry, crumpling in a heap instantaneously, in her alarm Yasmina had forgotten about his shoulder. There was little time for guilt or apologies as the sound of metal colliding with the floor tiles where Darius had stood only moments ago rang out soundly. 

Leaping between her friends and the stranger her arms outstretched Yaz pushed the others back out into the hall, trying not to trip over Darius, and the stupid fucking baby dinosaur they just had to bring with them that was baying loudly. Then the figure came at them again. Planting one foot on the ground the girl kicked out as hard as she could with the other, connecting with something soft. There was a grunt from their assailant as they stumbled, but they picked themselves back up too quickly for the young woman's liking, weapon drawn above their head like a baseball bat.

"Well, come on mother fucker!" Yasmina yelled blood pumping hotly, fists clenched, ready for a fight. To her surprise the shadow hesitated.

"Wait, you're not-" a man's voice said before he could be heard shuffling away. Blinded by the sudden turning on of a light Yaz shielded her gaze blinking back tears. When she looked up again she saw a haggard man in a lab coat wielding a long metal rod with a wheel at the end of it, giving her the impression that he'd ripped the leg off a metal tray table, which upon further inspection was exactly what he had done. The man took the campers in, the nerves in his face melting away, then he smirked. "Dinosaurs, I thought you were dinosaurs..."

"Yeah right!" Yaz shouted adrenaline flowing through her veins. "What was with the ambush?"

"Like I just said, I thought, you were dinosaurs." he went on in a tone that read 'children shouldn't question adults.' Then, ignoring the teenagers who had appeared only moments ago as though they were last week's headline, the man instead began combing through various files that had been strewn across the desk.

"Move!" Brooklynn shouted before anything else could be said or done. Shoving past the others she snatched a phone off of its receiver and put it to her ear, nails drumming nervously against the desk. "No dial tone!" she said in a pinched voice, pressing the button to disconnect over and over in an attempt to raise someone, anyone.

"Phones are dead little girl, so are most of the lights," the man intoned turning to smile at the internet influencer. "So are we, but by all means keep trying. While you're at it, help yourself to some cake." he added gesturing to the large white sheet cake that had been left in the corner of the room. "Today's my birthday."

"H-happy birthday." Ben whispered in a nervous knee jerk reaction as he pulled Bumpy towards him, pressing his back tight against a distant wall, and trying to grab Kenji to sit with them as he walked past.

Yasmina glared at the stranger for a long minute, likewise unable to shake her misgivings as everything about the man from his tone to his body language set off red flags in the girl's mind. Putting it aside for the time being however she turned her attention to Darius, "I'm so, so sorry." she said stooping down to help him up.

"It's alright," Darius said with a weak smile, though it was clear on his face just how badly that had hurt. 

Accepting her aid, his good arm looped around her neck Yasmina was caught off guard and balance when Darius suddenly let his full weight drop. Tumbling forward Yaz was able to keep her footing but only just, that was when she felt the boy's breath on her cheek as he held her close. "I don't trust this guy. Dinosaurs see better in the dark than we do. He's a scientist, he should know that. He's lying!" the boy hissed into her ear.

"We don't know that." she whispered back, helping him to his feet, denying her own fears.

"So what exactly happened here?" Brooklynn asked in a muffled voice, hands over her face as she sat in a chair, from what Yaz could tell, trying her best not to cry.

"Yeah, because this place is a shit hole." Kenji scoffed moving towards the cake.

"Did you shut the door behind you?" the man asked, still preoccupied with the papers, but now doing something in an attempt to revive the downed computer as well.

"Yeah," Sammy nodded coming to stand by Yaz again. "I think so."

"Good." the stranger replied, before the feeling of so many eyes on him made the man realize that an answer to their question was necessary. "Everyone ran, they left as soon as they realized this wasn't just another drill. They literally dropped everything, and ran... You smell that? I don't know what it is or how long it's safe to keep breathing it in, by hey look on the bright side, at least they didn't make mustard gas when they knocked over all the chemicals." he looked around at the kids and smiled, the dim half light illuminating his face with a sinister glow. "A word to the wise, don't go into the chem lab while you're poking around in here, we don't want those fumes to overwhelm us, do we?"

An uneasy quiet fell over the room as the kids looked at one another, each face frightened, each child on edge. No one made a move for a long minute, everyone weighing their own thoughts on this new and unpredictable situation in which they found themselves against the knowledge of assured destruction should they venture back out into the wilds. It was Sammy who broke the silence first.

"You said the lights were still working, at least around here?" she said. The man only nodded. "Then, I'm going to go to the bathroom, maybe clean up a bit!" she smiled, motioning towards the dried brown-ish red blood that caked her arm and stained clothes.

"I'll go with you." Yasmina assured following the other girl as she anxiously made her way towards the bathroom. More than wanting to protect her, which she did, Yaz just needed a moment alone with Sammy, if only for her own peace of mind.

The lights flickered briefly, before illuminating the interior fully, motion activated sensors coming to life the second the pair walked in. Making her way to the sinks the cowgirl leaned on one and let out a pent, shaky breath before looking at herself in the mirror. "I sure do look a mess don't I?" she laughed, looking as Yasmina's reflection.

"Yeah." Yaz replied.

They made eye contact through the mirror, and Yasmina's heart went a flutter, her stomach filled with butterflies. Grabbing a handful of paper towels from the despenser she wasn't sure how to say all the of things she'd been thinking, all of the things she'd planned to say when she followed the other girl in here. So Yaz stayed quiet, lips pressed together in a tight line as she watched Sammy washing her arm in the sink from the corner of her eye. Ringing out the excess water Yasmina brought the paper towels over, and gently moving Sammy's hair aside began to wipe at the dried blood behind her ear, and down the back of her neck.

It had been the single most terrifying moment of her life, Yasmina thought, not just the fall, but waking up afterwards. Her chair had gotten tangled in the trees and vines on the way down and had slowed her decent substantially with the drag it had created so she'd hit the ground pretty gently, well, relatively speaking. The first one to come to, Yasmina had staggered about for a minute in a daze trying to collect her thoughts. It was then that she had spotted Sammy, face down in the dirt, so still, covered in so much blood. Yasmina shuddered at the memory, the feel of turning Sammy's lifeless form over in her arms, the harrowing belief that she was gone.

Dark recollection taking hold after a few minutes, her fingers started trembling, eyes flooding with tears as she worked with a quiet diligence Yasmina couldn't keep it in any longer. "I thought you were dead." she whispered. Sammy stopped scrubbing to look at the athlete in the reflective glass. 

"I woke up, and you were just laying there, there was so much blood!" Yasmina sobbed. "I thought you were dead, and I didn't know what to do! I didn't-"

"Shh!" Sammy soothed, turning around and hugging Yaz. 

Her face buried in Sammy's shoulder the young woman found herself unable to remain strong in that moment, and hugging her back began to cry. 

"I'm ok, it's going to be alright!" Sammy promised. "I've got you, we're safe now."

"I thought- I thought- I- I-" Yasmina choked gripping onto Sammy, desperately unable to shake the image of her lying unresponsive in her lap, head lulling to the side. Struggling for a minute to pull herself together, and to articulate why she was feeling the way she was Yasmina pulled out of the comforting embrace, looking up at Sammy with red rimmed watery eyes. Yaz swept one of Sammy's notoriously unruly stray locks out of her face, and finally found the words. "I love you."

Pressing her lips to Sammy's Yasmina held on tight as the other girl rocked back, off balance. Catching herself however Sammy pivoted the other way, and then back, turning them in a circle, and before Yasmina knew it, they were dancing. Bursting out in a sudden fit of laughter, her heart swelling Yasmina very unromantically ruined the moment as their teeth collided. She gazed adoringly up at Sammy before resting her head on the other girl's chest while the cowgirl hummed a sweet little song as they improvised a slow paced two step, and for a moment there was no one else alive.

Serenity had fallen over Yasmina, her eyes gently closed as they embraced, circling slowly, in an abandoned semi-public bathroom, no less, their shoes sliding over the slick white tiles as they turned in slow tender loops. If only they could stay like that for the rest of time, Yaz thought relishing the moment, that would be just fine with her. Then, she heard it, a change in Sammy's heart rate, her breathing becoming quicker too. Brow furrowed Yaz wanted to ask if everything was alright, if there was anything she could do to help in some way. Selfishly however, she didn't want to spoil the moment, and hugged herself closer instead.

"Yasmina," Sammy began quietly, worry in her voice. "There's something I really, really need to talk to you about..."

Oh no, Yasmina thought tensing, and then she realized what had just happened, she'd said the 'L' word. You don't say the big 'L' unless you're sure the other person feels the same way, and how could she? They hardly knew each other. What if Sammy had only kissed that night- wait was that really just last night? It seemed like to long ago already, one kiss and Yasmina had professed her love! She was a fucking moron! What if this wasn't love to Sammy? Yasmina fretted. What if this was just a summer fling? What if she had someone waiting for her back home? Yaz felt sick with nerves and anxiety, she'd fucked up.

"What is it?" she asked when the gentle sway she would have made herself at home in stopped, and Sammy slowly pushed her away, to arm's length.

"I don't know how to tell you, but," Sammy started blinking back tears, before taking a steadying breath. "I-" she started only to be cut off by the door bursting open, bouncing jarringly off the wall with force.

Startled Yaz jumped, turning to see Brooklynn standing in the doorway, arms folded an angry, yet skeptical expression her face. "What the hell?" Yasmina shouted. "What is your problem?"

"Who me?" the pink haired girl asked innocently. "I don't like liars." she shrugged walking in with ease, her steps light she was almost skipping as she made her way to the sink. "Besides I was just wondering what you two were conspiring about in here."

She was so smug and arrogant it was all Yasmina could do not to grab her by her gaudy cotton candy tresses and make her eat floor tile. "We're talking, and it's a private conversation!" she grit between her teeth.

"About what?" Brooklynn asked running cool water over her face.

"None of your God damn business, that's what!" Yaz shouted, only Sammy's hand on her arm kept her from stepping up.

"Oh, how convenient." Brooklynn smiled leaning up against the sink after she had washed most of the dirt away. Too bad she couldn't wash away the ugly, Yaz thought.

The room turned cold, tension filling the air with an electrified static as the girls sized one another up with hostility, Sammy trying in vain to curtail any fighting. It was as the warring parties seemed to reach the precipice of their rage that the door inched open.

"Bumpy, no, stop it!" Ben grunted, holding the door somewhat closed as the baby ankylosaurus tried barging in, honking and outraged that Ben would reveal to her an entire room beyond the door yet have the audacity not to let her explore it.

"What are you doing?" Brooklynn asked eyes narrowed as she turned on him.

"I um, I need to go to the bathroom..." he muttered, gaze shifting about nervously.

"So, go use the men's!" Brooklynn shouted, pointing with disgust for him to leave.

Ben turned away, looking back the way he'd come before sticking his head through the gap again. "Please?" he begged, voice desperate.

"Sure." Sammy shrugged, motioning for him to come in.

"What? That's disgusting!" Brooklynn snapped.

"Everybody poops." Sammy said rolling her eyes.

"So?"

"Just come in and piss already!" Yaz commanded, turning to the boy who was trying to beat a hasty retreat, her adrenal glands working with a manic overtime since the Indominus' rampage. He hesitated, looking apprehensively at everyone else before he and Bumpy scurried into the room.

"Thank you!" Ben whispered rushing towards a stall before turning to the little animal who was bounding up behind him with excitement. "Yes it's all a lot of fun. Now, stay here." 

"Why do you have to be such a bitch all the time?" Yasmina remarked.

"Said the pot to the kettle!" Brooklynn yelled.

Fists were made, would be combatants moving towards each other heatedly when Sammy put herself between them. "We don't have time for this y'all!" she pleaded, passing a destitute look between her friends.

Yaz glanced at the hurt look on Sammy's face before staring hard at Brooklynn, and let out a sigh. Slowly the fight dying out of her Yasmina said, "She's right." and stepped down. Brooklynn looked like she was ready to argue but thought better of it, she folded her arms again and remained quiet.

"So, what're we doing?" Kenji asked sauntering in, eating a hearty slab of cake.

"Hey." Darius nodded following him in. "We need to talk."

"Oh fine, sure, I mean what are rules for anyways?" Brooklynn said sarcastically throwing her hands in the air as she walked to the far end of the room.

"You seriously brought cake into the bathroom?" Yasmina asked, disgusted as she stared at the oldest among them who inspite of his slow, pained movements seemed to be enjoying himself at the moment.

"Yeah?" he nodded.

"That's so gross Kenji!" Sammy added, nose wrinkled.

"No, it's whipped cream frosting, really good actually, want a bite?" he asked shoving his fork towards the girl.

"Why is everyone in here now?" a plaintive groan came from the stall.

"Ben?" Darius asked turning towards the toilets. "Good, we're all here."

"Could maybe less of us be here?" Ben asked.

"Oh my God," Kenji smirked. "Ben are you pee shy?" When the question was met with silence the group's 'leader' made his way to the stall and stuck his foot under the door. "That better?"

"I hate you, get out!" Ben shouted.

Annoyed and fed up with his constant showboating Yasmina walked up behind Kenji intent on slugging him, but she didn't want to make the same mistake twice. Remembering his ribs she grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged. "Leave him alone." she said, while Sammy got to work at the same time.

"Don't worry, I got you Ben." she assured opening every tap and turning on the hand driers until the who bathroom shounded like a hurricane was blowing through it.

Bumpy began to shriek fearfully at the machinery, her playful rollicking about put to an end she dove for cover under beneath the closed stall door, Ben shouted something that couldn't quite be understood. Yasmina couldn't help but chuckle everything else aside at the sight of her chubby little butt wiggling back and forth as Bumpy squeezed herself under. After a minute the timers ran out and everything shut off, the power, and noise slowly dying down. Shortly after a red faced Ben emerged sheepishly, the baby dinosaur attached at the hip as she seemed to question Ben's judgment, and rethink this new room, and it's potential.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Yasmina asked Darius, though she couldn't keep her gaze from drifting to Sammy.

"We can't stay here." the boy began turning to look at each of them in turn.

"No, we can't." Brooklynn agreed, hugging herself as she leaned against the far wall.

"Why not?" Kenji asked, turning away from the embarassed boy he'd been tormenting while he scrubbed up in the sink. "I mean the dinosaurs aren't exactly going to bust down the building, there's cake, vending machines we can hold out here a couple of days. Besides Eddie does seem that bad?"

"Eddie?" Brooklynn asked, brow arching.

"He told you his name?" Darius added to the inquiry.

"Uh-uh, the cake." Kenji explained motioning towards the curling letters iced in yellow. All of the other kids looked at one another with mounting unease. "What?" Kenji asked through a mouthful of cream.

"I just don't like the feel of this whole situation," Darius said unable to give an exact reason behind his mistrust he started picking things apart for all the hear. "This place is completely abandoned, except for 'Eddie,' why would he stay behind?"

"I don't know, he seems like he's working on something though." Yaz put in.

"But why?" Darius asked with perplexity. "Everyone else is gone, what's so important that he's still hanging around?"

"Maybe he's looking for something, you know, like a spy." Brooklynn said looking pointedly at the Texan who couldn't meet her gaze.

"Maybe..." Darius muttered thoughtfully. "That would explain the lab..."

"What about the lab?" Kenji scoffed still packing away the sweets.

"It's been trashed!" Darius laughed with disbelief. "Did you not see all the broken glass? The amber?"

"And?" the oldest boy asked.

"Think about it," Ben, who was trying to reassure the little dinosaur said rolling his eyes. "When was the last time the trophy case at your school got knocked over at your school during a fire drill? Emergency or not they had to have been prepared for this in some way, that level of chaos out there?" he asked with a pointed finger. "If that doesn't happen with a school full of rowdy teenagers hyped up on caffeine, sugar, and copious amounts of raging hormones than it certainly wouldn't happen with a room full of highly educated, level headed scientists."

"Jesus, you talk like you're retired sometimes." Kenji observed with a weary expression. "You do realize you are an aforementioned teenager, right?"

"'Aforementioned?'" Yasmina smirked, it was always funny when Kenji tried to sound smart, it just didn't work.

"No, Ben really hit the nail on the head." Darius went on still ruminative. "Maybe he was looking for something hidden, or just got angry and started smashing things..."

"You all realize that we're judging a complete stranger right?" Yasmina said unable to keep from feeling defensive she crossed her arms with aggravation, accustomed to the receiving end of this exact sort of situation. Being on your toes was necessary, but this, somehow this felt different. "You know what they say about books and their covers?"

"We just listed evidence to support our suspicions." Darius opposed. "Besides, I didn't see you getting all chummy with him." Unable to deny this fact, though equally upset at condemning someone based solely on a feeling she remained quiet.

"Besides, what about that smell? What if it's some type of invisible gas?" Brooklynn asked. "If something did break in the lab I don't want to wait around to find out the long term affects of inhaling it!"

"So, what do we do now?" Sammy asked wringing her hands together.

Everyone was ashen faced as they stared at their shoes, the rapid succession of horror at the grim face of death, the frantic rudderless pelt into the unknown, the thinly veiled illusion of safety, and now this weighing on them. Soul crushed Yasmina glanced up at Sammy through her eye lashes, she watched her standing there just as lost as the rest of them, Yaz awash with uncertainty wondered what she had been getting ready to tell her, and what it meant for the nonexistent concept of 'them.'

"I don't know," Darius intoned after a bit, wiping at his eyes. "Maybe rest for a while then drive to the main park, find Dave and Roxie?" Timorously everyone agreed.

Filing out of the room the teenagers found the stranger still working with a fanaticism at the computer he had finally gotten to boot. Spreading about the lab they all settled quietly to watch him with an err of caution as they recouped their strength. Frenziliy typing away switching out flash drives from his pocket every now and then. 

Looking to Sammy who sat, head resting on her shoulder eyes closed Yasmina took the others girl's hand in her own. Why did she always fall for girls who couldn't, or wouldn't love her back? she wondered with dismay.

"Again we are so glad we found you," Darius broke the hush after a while, trying to gauge the adult in the room, and just how much longer they could reasonably stay. "There's a giant camouflaged dinosaur out there, also regular dinosaurs, we've been hoping to find someone. The park has to have a plan, so what's the plan?" he asked with a faltering smile.

There was no response for the space of several minutes until the scientist glanced up from his station. "You're asking me?" he asked with a sharp bout of laughter.

"Is that a good freaky laugh?" Sammy asked groggily, picking her head up with a sway that made made Yaz worry about not only blood loss, but a concussion as well.

"Don't you get it kid?" the man scoffed looking up with ire and indignation. "We're doomed. No one is coming to help."

"What about Wu?" Darius asked.

"Wu?" the man chortled in response. "Who do you think is to blame? He got greedy and instead of building dinosaurs he built monsters. Masrani, Dearing, they're all clueless about what's really going on here."

"What's going on here?" Brooklynn asked walking closer eyes narrowed in sharp inquiry.

"It doesn't matter does it?" he replied looking the girl up and down as she approached him. Yaz stood up just in case his hostility turned into aggression. She had been wrong about him, she could admit it, sometimes the cover told the whole story, but there was no way she was going to let him lay a finger on Brooklynn, at least not before Yasmina had gotten a piece of her. 

"This isn't a park," the man declared with an eerily calm tone. "It's a powder keg and it is detonating all around us. All it took was one little overly ambitious project to light the fuze."

"Whoa, let's uh, let's dial it back a little bit Eddie, you're scaring the kids!" Kenji said with his signature charm, nodding towards Ben who clung wide eyed to a napping Bumpy in the corner. The man didn't seem to hear him. "...Eddie?" Kenji tried his smile bearing an uncomfortable twinge of anxiety.

The man turned to him with a perplexed look, brows knit before something seemed to register and he glanced at the cake and chuckled. Yasmina's stomach filled with ice water, every muscle in her body tensing. She looked at Kenji who appeared just as chilled and caught unawares. "We have to go, right now." Yaz mouthed, pointing sharply to the ground, but Darius, exhausted and in pain was overcome with upset and disillusionment despite how he had foreseen things going and began lamenting loudly.

"I can't believe it!" he shouted. "You're an adult, you're supposed to know what to do! You're supposed to help us! We drove all the way here and-"

"Wait," 'Eddie' smirked pulling a drive out of the computer. "You have a vehicle?"

Before anyone could react the man grabbed the desk lamp and only source of light in the room, smashing it in a shower of sparks against the device he'd been toiling with. Submerged in darkness Yaz grabbed onto Sammy as everyone began shouting and screaming, scrambling to find one another they tripped and stumbled over the disarray scattered across the floor. Eventually they made their way into the searing light of day.

"Guys," Kenji said brows furrowed. "I left the keys in the van!"

The children turned to see the black vehicle start up and begin to roll away. "Uh-uh, no fucking way!" Yasmina yelled pushing off as though from a starting block.

Feet churning, heels striking the earth with a comfortable familiarity the girl felt empowered by her own speed and strength in that moment. Anger and resentment welling within her as she gained the athlete was determined not to let that son of a bitch get away, not with their ticket to survival. Focused only on the goal ahead Yasmina's short-sightedness literally caught up with her as her shin bit into something hard. Carried forward by her momentum she toppled head over heels, gravel digging into her back, over the baby ankylosaurus who honked and screeched loudly.

"Bumpy!" Yaz grit before standing up and starting again. She was right there, only a few yards behind the van when there was a terrible sound of crushing dented metal as something large and red collided with the side of the vehicle, sending it spinning into the field nearby.

Shock and fear lancing through her Yasmina skidded to a halt and fell back, the feel of dirt scrapping the skin from the back of her legs meaningless as she watched in stunned dread as Toro made its way towards the large motionless black box, striking it with the side of its head. She watched in horror as the man who would have left them for dead climbed frantically about the interior of the van in an attempt to get away for the carnotaurus. Jumping with fright when someone grabbed her by the arm and tried pulling her away Yaz turned to see the cowgirl urging her to flee, eyes locked on the shrieking man who'd been caught by the ankle as he tried to crawl beneath the car.

Following her as the kids raced for cover, there was a final scream followed by a hideous crunch. Beside her, Kenji, his stomach clenching lost his cake painfully as they ran. Bypassing the toxic lab the campers hurried past large blue drums and shipping freight only to be met with the large steel bands of a fence. Slamming her fists against it, Yaz wailed at the bitter injustice of a cruel God.

Toro roared and the kids threw themselves behind a large standing of rocks, huddling breathlessly for cover. Her pulse rapid Yasmina looked at her friends before spying Bumpy, Ben shielding her protectively with his body. All of the anger, frustration, and fear boiled out of control in the girl's chest until she erupted like a volcano.

"I told you she'd get in the way!" Yaz said emphasizing her rage with an uncharacteristically cruel kick to the little animal's side. "If it weren't for her I would have made the van!" she added reeling her foot to strike again as the thing bleated helplessly and Ben shifted about to defend her, taking the second kick in the back.

"Yaz!" Sammy whispered urgently yanking the other girl backwards. "That's enough," she whispered. "You're scared, but that's enough."

Remorseful, Yasmina stared at Sammy with watery eyes, she was right, but that didn't keep Yasmina from venting her heated dissatisfaction at the set back.

"Why couldn't you leave her behind?" Yaz demanded an answer.

"Because I won't abandon her like we were!" the boy shouted back. "I-I can't, she needs me. And she just saved your life! Maybe kicking a baby is-" a bellow from the carnotaurus searching around for more flesh to satiate it's appetit cut off his words.

"Ben's right," Darius muttered dismally. "We're on our own. We make a run for it, to the van, agreed?" Everyone nodded solemnly.

Ducking low to the ground they scampered about the large shipping containers, using them to conceal their movement as Toro searched and sniffed around for its illusive prey, the ground trembling with the nearness of its strides. Back pressed against cold metal Yasmina closed her eyes as Toro got nearer scenting the air. Several feet from the rest of them Kenji had pulled a straggling Ben into hiding just in time. That thing was going to get them all killed, Yasmina thought glaring at Bumpy who Ben hugged onto like the stupid bleeding heart he was. Darius motioned for the pair to join the rest of them, but they wouldn't risk it.

That was when the maverick of recklessness got an idea and hurled a rock against a distant stack of drums where it clattered noisily. Making their way towards them the boys looked like rabbits in a snare, and acidic reek of vomit clinging to the eldest. They were nearly there and legged it for the final stretch, only Brooklynn fell. The tablet she'd been clutching like it offered some form of magical protection since she found it began trilling loudly. Trying to pull Sammy after her Yaz tore away from the pack towards the van.

In a single excruciating moment Sammy pulled out of her grip and ran towards the pink haired girl where she lay frozen in fear. Without hesitation the cowgirl ripped her off the ground, and the two ran. Before Yasmina could act the dino-nerd was at it again banging a stick and calling for Toro's attention. The situation well at hand Yasmina continued to run.

Making it to the van Yaz shoved Kenji out of the way with a terse, "I'm driving!" while everyone else piled in, Darius making a last minute dive into the bed at the back of the van before Yasmina stepped hard on the gas and they peeled out, tires churning.

Shrinking away in the rearview mirror Toro roared with annoyance as it watched it's meal get away. There was a moment of stunned silence before everyone began whooping and hollering excitedly, the joy of life winning out once more against the reality of death. It was then that the radio crackled to life.

"Kids?" Roxie's stressed voice a familiar comfort came in over the speaker. "Come on pick up! There's something going on. Stay at camp, we're heading to you."

Leaning over the seat Darius snatched up the device and radioed back. "No, we're heading to you!"

"Darius what are you-"

"We're all fine, but we had to leave camp." he went on.

"What?" Dave and Roxie shouted in unison.

"Short story a dinosaur ate camp." Yaz called over her shoulder as she drove.

"And Jayson... and a lot of other people." Ben added in a whisper, Bumpy calling loudly as she nudged him.

"We're in a van, cutting through the jungle heading for the main park." Darius explained, and like that they were saved.

A warm sense of relief washed over Yasmina, one that the others seemed to feel as well when Sammy shouted "Woo, we did it camp family!"

"My phone." Brooklynn muttered in hollow surprise, when something clattered to the floor. "I knew it!" she screamed.

Turning back Yasmina stared at the pink cell with the shattered face, before looking back up at Sammy her heart beginning to race with a different type of anger, and fear. "Sammy?" she asked.

The girl pitched forward abruptly, the collision sudden and unexpected as the van drove straight into a rock face. Electricity raced up her neck, the impact of her head battling the steering wheel a deep blow that sent dark orbs swimming in the driver's vision. She tasted blood. 

She couldn't do this, she thought unbuckling her seatbelt and half falling out of the van as she opened the door staggering away. Her breath caught in her throat, tears overwhelming Yasmina as she cupped her split lip and bloody nose the girl ignored the others calling for her as she moved further and further away from them. She couldn't breathe, she could barely even stand, knees weak and threatening to give out at any time. Yasmina felt like she was drowning as wave after wave of sorrow and betrayal washed over her. 

This was so, so much worse than anything she could have imagined. Worse than a fling, even worse than if the other girl had someone else waiting for her in Texas. Sammy had lied, none of it, absolutely none of it was real, none of it meant anything to her. At least if it had been a brief affair it would have meant something even if was something insignificant and doomed to end. Clutching her chest, heart throbbing agonizingly Yaz felt like she was going to die. She had shown herself to Sammy, her real self, told her everything, given her everything like a fool, and it meant nothing.

It meant nothing.

Nothing.

Yasmina wanted to die...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot more difficult to write than I had anticipated, sorry for the wait. :'(
> 
> Just a few things I changed up 'Eddie' because even though it's a kids show I thought it was kinda dumb for Mantah Corp to entrust such deep cover espionage to someone so flighty and inexperienced in addition to their gamble with a sixteen year old girl. So I made him more capable.
> 
> Also I watched a video where it was originally meant to be Toro and not Indominus in this episode and honestly I preferred the original roles especially considering Indominus can sense body heat, something that is mentioned once in the movies and is then completely forgotten and disregarded. 
> 
> Let's face it people no matter how sensitive to smell Indominus is that gasoline wasn't going to save Owen in the movie, and the rock trick Darius' used wasn't going to be an affective decoy in the show against something that can sense body heat.
> 
> Also I just wanted to let everyone know that I am avoiding Season 2 of the show all together, no trailers, no episodes, nothing. I am worried that if I watch it, it will kill my creative buzz and drive for this fic, it's happened to me in the past with other fics and fandoms. I really love this story and don't want to let it die especially now that I finally have it plotted out all the way to the end. So please no spoilers in comments should you leave them!
> 
> Thank you all for reading! 💖


	17. The Day of Reckoning: Part Three

With a complete disregard for her physical pain Sammy yanked her seatbelt off. Still reeling from the crash she sprawled to the floor without it's support, vertigo overwhelming. Her disjointed thoughts took notice of a nickel that had rolled beneath the bench, it's gleaming silver face catching her eye before urgency overtook her. Picking herself up again the girl stumbled from the back of the van, dirt churning beneath her hands and knees as she crawled free from the vehicle. Wretching with nausea Sammy struggled to catch her breath, gulping for air before she found her feet, unsteady as they were.

"Yaz!" she called after the girl who seemed keen to put as much space between the two of them as possible. "Wait, Yasmina!" 

The world shifted and wobbled all around Sammy, colors bleeding, shapes merging, and skewing into one another as her eyes welled up with tears that distorted everything she looked at. She felt faint, her limbs cold with shock, and despair, a radiating pulse beginning at the base of her neck and spreading outwards into her back and shoulders. She dismissed the pain and trudged on, her hand outstretched.

Oh God, she thought, the toe of her boot connecting with a rock, she tripped, catching herself but only just. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. She had wanted to tell Yaz, had tried to tell her, she really had, but now, now Yasmina had taken off like arrow from a bowstring, visibly shaking as she stormed further and further away from the group.

"Please!" Sammy called her voice quavering with an abiding sorrow.

"Is everyone alright?" Darius asked moving like an old man as he climbed out of the double doors.

"No!" Kenji wept, slumping against the wheel well at the front of the car, air hissing between his teeth.

At the sound of Darius' question Yasmina turned around, stalking furiously back the way she'd come, her gaze blazingly locked onto Sammy as she shouted. "We are not alright! We're lost in this God forsaken jungle with a murderous camouflaged dinosaur and you?" Yaz snarled, eyes narrowed as leaned in with menace towards Sammy who shrank shamefully beneath her stare. "You."

"Destroyed our only way to get help and lied about it!" Brooklynn shouted little worse for wear as she motioned about accusingly with her wrecked cell. "I told you!" she declared with a vindicated smile.

"So you did take Brooklynn's phone?" Darius asked, the disappointment in his tone wounding while Sammy observed a shifting tide in her friends as they all began to turn against her. "Why?" he wanted to know. "What were you doing?"

"I-" Sammy started, her voice a hollow guilt ridden whisper.

"She was probably trying to erase my video of her taking those samples from the sinoceratops!" Brooklynn correctly surmised. Sammy gave her a pleading look not to say more, but the pink haired girl seemed both angered at having been discounted by everyone, and relieved that she had indeed been right and continued to piece the rest of the puzzle together. "And you knew about the Indominus Rex because you were snooping around Dr Wu's office when I ran into you. I knew it!"

"I didn't mean to destroy the phone." Sammy sobbed, trying to find one ally among the faces that stared so hard and hating at her. "I fell on it when the zipline came down-"

"But you did steal it? You had it that whole time and you didn't tell us?" Ben called from the other side of the van where he played nursemaid to Kenji who couldn't seem to find his footing.

"Hold up. What were you doing in Dr Wu's office Brooklynn?" Darius inquired, filling the farm girl with some hope that not all was lost for her. She'd been so preoccupied with the fear of being caught however that she'd never dared to ask the question herself, what had Brooklynn been doing? Surly she wasn't working for Mantah Corp as well? Turning with interest Sammy looked at the other girl who floundered uneasily beneath the scrutiny.

"I... It doesn't matter I didn't break our only way to call for help and then lie about it! This is not my fault, it's her fault!" Brooklynn shouted diverting all of the tension and blame back to Sammy.

Everything was happening too fast, and all at once, Sammy's head was a whirl, she felt herself being kicked and tossed about with the chaotic furry of a rodeo bull whose flank strap was tied too tight. A few loose tears leaving behind solemn tracks on her cheeks Sammy looked helplessly first at Darius, then Brooklynn, and lastly Yasmina who had a fire in her eyes that threatened to consume her, the heat of which scorched Sammy's soul with bitter damnation.

"I'm here to spy." Sammy cried out, hugging herself as she turned away from Yasmina, unable to meet her stare any longer. "For a company called Mantah Corp."

"Mantah Corp?" Darius asked, brows furrowed. "They're a bioengineering company big rivals of Masrani, they tried to make dinosaurs too but Wu beat them to it."

"You doomed us all for some lousy company?" Ben shouted, shooting up incredulously from the other side of the van.

"Our ranch was in trouble." Sammy began, teeth chattering with anxiety as she fought hard not to cry. "We were in real, real bad shape. My folks had to borrow a lot of money from some shady people... It just kept disappearing as fast as we could make it, and much faster than we could repay it. Our ranch was running itself into the ground. Then-" Sammy squeezed her eyes shut, a stabbing hopeless pain piercing her heart. "My daddy signed away the deed to the ranch! He sighed it away! It's not just where we work it's where we live! It's my home!" Trembling she took a moment to look about imploringly, surly they had to understand. It was her home, her everything, they were going to lose everything!

"Father of the fucking year!" Kenji shouted his expression hard set as he stood with difficulty.

"Don't you dare talk about my daddy that way Kenji Kon!" Sammy yelled taking a hurried step towards him, blood boiling. "He's a great man! He ju-"

"Yeah, sounds like a real winner!" Kenji argued back with a grunt.

"At least my daddy-"

"Guys!" Darius interrupted, "Please." The two looked at each other irate for a moment but said nothing more conceding to the dire nature of their situation. "I'm sorry about the ranch Sammy, but that doesn't explain what you were doing collecting samples for Mantah Corp." Darius went on, trying to re-rail, the conversation.

"I-I don't exactly know how its all connected either..." Sammy confessed, casting the boy a lost glance. "People just kept showing up, looking for money. Mama and Daddy tried to keep us from seeing it, but we're not stupid. It seemed like they were coming by all the time, sometimes things got really heated. We had to call the Sheriff once or twice, but as soon as they heard the cops were coming they'd hightail it..." the girl paused to take a deep steadying breath, the world still swaying beneath her feet, but not as drastically as before.

"Then the men in the suits, with the sleek black cars started showing up." she went on.

"Mantah Corp?" Darius asked.

"Mantah Corp." Sammy confirmed with a nod that she immediately regretted. "They started coming around more and more, even talking to my little sister, putting hands on her! They said that they would ensure that we lost everything unless I spied for them and used the behind the scenes access I'd get at camp to gather information from Wu's lab, DNA from dinos, and whatever else I could get my hands on. But then Brooklynn caught on and I got scared and everything went wrong. This is the last thing I wanted to happen. I'm so, so sorry!" Sammy said turning to face Yasmina.

"What to be stuck next to a broken down van on killer dinosaur island? Hey, me too, what are the odds?" Yaz bit out. "And it's totally not like it's your fault or anything, oh, wait."

"No," Sammy said between trembling breaths. "Hurting you."

"Oh, I'm so sure." Yasmina grit, with a bitterly wounded expression. "Was it all a lie? Pretending to be friends? Pretending you... Pretending you cared about me?" she asked unconsciously reaching up to brush her fingertips against her lips. "...You just needed someone to hide what you were doing. Tell me I'm wrong?" she demanded.

"You are wrong!" the ousted camper pleaded. "I just didn't know how to say it, how to explain to you, but I tried, I really did try to tell you!"

"Only because you were going to be exposed anyway and you needed some sad sap patsy to feel bad because you confessed and defend you against the others!" Yasmina bellowed fists clenched once again. Sammy's eyes fluttered fearfully, was Yaz going to hit her? 

"Well guess what?" Yasmina questioned with ferocity, a hand cutting through the air like a knife. "I'm done defending you, you're on you're own."

"Please!" Sammy begged, pressing hard against her chest to try and quell the painfully rampant beating of her heart. "Yasmina I lo-"

"Don't!" Yasmina shouted her strong resolve of fiery rage and vengeance faltering, a stray tear slipping from her eye. "Don't you dare! I hate you Sammy. I hate you! Go away."

Her breath catching, throat tight Sammy found herself unable to breathe. Looking haplessly to the others she found in their stares only judgement and disdain. Tearing away from the other girl Sammy raced to the other end of the vehicle. Cupping her face she cried in long rasping sobs huddled in the dirt rocking back and forth as she languished. All she had wanted to do was help her family, all she had wanted to do was save the ranch. How could it have all gone so wrong?

The girl desperately replayed everything in her head from the moment she'd arrived at camp. She thought she'd been so careful, so clever, and discreet. Pocketing some mucus coated eggshell from Bumy's hatching, going back with Darius for samples in the butterfly garden, smearing the dimorphodon blood against her shirt 'accidently' to collect later when she checked on the poor animal, picking up each and every fallen scale or tooth she'd come across on the hike. She'd gotten sloppy, careless at some point, and that was how Brooklynn caught if only- if only-

Yasmina... the thought occured to her so suddenly that Sammy gave a start. It was Yasmina. From the moment she had her outburst at Canyon Convivial Sammy had been infatuated with unraveling the mystery of the girl, watching her, looking for hints an clues about what made her tik, a deep desire to get to know her, and if possible get close to her consuming much of her waking thoughts. It had been Yasmina that made her falter, that made her lose sight of what should have been her one and only purpose at Camp Cretaceous. It was Yaz she had been preoccupied with, checking on her when the opportunity to collect the sinoceratops samples first arose. It was Yasmina who had distracted her from the very beginning.

I was obsessed. She thought tearily, the bitter knowledge that the girl she had become so enamored with now resented her wholely.

Sammy's crying worsened, becoming bitter and resentful as she could hear the others talking, Bumpy calling noisily about something. Suddenly the trees to her left folded, their boughs brushing the earth as they were bent low by a powerful force. She had only just realized the danger they were in when the Indominus Rex, roaring with ferocity burst through the treeline. Everything was fear and adrenaline as the children all began to scream, ducking and scrambling for cover around the dilapidated vehicle.

It was just as Sammy was beginning to welcome her fate with a melancholic acceptance that the creature ran past them, as though their insignificance was immeasurable. That was when she heard the gunfire, little plumes of dust whisping into the air as the miniature projectiles imbedded themselves into the ground with a dull thud-thud-thud that seemed miniscule in comparison to the loud crack and boom of the machine that fired them.

Huddled in stunned shock it was Kenji who broke the tension, "That's Masrani!" he said with a smile. "That's his call sign on the tail! Yeah, kick it's butt Masrani!"

Following his lead the others followed, their eyes glued to the black aircraft as it held position well above it's target, marksman maintaining level sight. The bird cage, Sammy thought a hopeful smile breaking out across her face as she caught sight of the large glistening dome on the distance. That was the bird cage! She knew where they were! They were close, they were going to be- the cacophony of shattered glass broke her train of thought.

"What was that?" she whispered apprehensively.

"I don't, know." Darius said squinting into the distance as several small, fast moving shapes ascended into the sky, a cloud of them heading straight for the helicopter.

They watched on terror as it banked desperately to one side, then the other before it began spinning and whirling out of control. It hit the top of the half-sphere, an angry orange pyre exploding in its wake.

"Mr Masrani." Ben whispered, hands over his mouth.

Steadily the shapes began to move en masse, heading directly for the children, and that was when they recognized the horrific forms of pterosaurs looming towards them. Thinking quickly the eldest grabbed Brooklynn's tablet and began tapping frantically at the screen.

"The kayak river, it's near here. It goes underground near the ridge if we follow it, it should lead us right to the main park!" he said in a stroke of genius.

"Then that's where we need to be." Darius declared racing away. "Come on!"

Boots to the ground Sammy took off running, the others taking up position all around her as they fled for their lives. Death rained from the heavens with talons for rending and cruel beaks to sever and cleave. A sudden weight crashed down on Sammy's back, her legs giving out as she pelted for the cave, gusts of wind swirling around her as the heavy beast on her back beat it's wings. Ten needles in your back, she thought her frantic mind conjuring to life memories of a stupid playground game from her youth.

Nails digging into the soil the cowgirl tried to claw her way free from the winged predator when more weight crashed down on her. The girl dared not look back, shielding her face and eyes as the animals began screeching at one another, vying for their prey. They bit and tore at one another as they fought until with great wing beats they took flight engaging in vicious aerial combat as they flew off. Taking the opportunity Sammy bolted, panting for air as she entered the distinctly cooler mouth of the cave.

Darius and Ben lagged behind the rest, a howling Bumpy managed with great difficulty between them. With a grunt Yasmina hefted the door closed behind them, and the teenagers let out kind breathy sighs. As they recuperated their strength and energy the campers looked around themselves, the automatic announcement that played on loop a strange comfort, the familiarity that they were nearer and nearer civilization as a woman's voice explained life vest safety over a loud speaker a soothing reassurance to their frayed nerves.

Edging towards the water Sammy watched quietly as the others scooped up lifejackets, dawning the bright yellow vests with capability and confidence. They all appeared so sure of themselves, the girl thought as she watched them, to know that this was how they were going to get out of there, to be saved. And they all ignored her as they moved about with purpose the fact that moments ago they were running for their lives, again, forgotten. Staring at the slick fabric of a vest draped over the guard railing Sammy picked it up and reluctantly followed their lead, desperately wishing that she could feel so assured.

It was as she was sliding the vest on that Yaz pushed past, grabbing Ben by the shoulders coasting him towards a distant kayak. Struggling against her emotions Sammy finished dressing as Kenji loudly announced that he and Brooklynn would be pioleting the 'CKK' or 'Cool Kids Kayak.' For some reason, his idiocy was somehow grounding a little smile tugging at the corner of Sammy's mouth.

"Come on Sammy," Darius said coming up behind the cowgirl. "Let's get out of here."

The kayak tilted and bobbed in the water making it difficult for the teens to maintain their balance. After a few seconds of trial and error the two sat, oars in hand. That was when Sammy heard Darius gasp, turning towards him brows knit she saw worry on his face.

"Your back is bleeding." he cringed.

Reaching behind her Sammy touched her lower back, fingers brushing an open cut, it stung. "Is is bad?" she asked after feeling around at the marks that mirrored it.

"I don't know..." Darius admitted. "A few of them look kinda deep, the rest are more like scratches."

Nodding Sammy took his word for it even though now that she was aware of it, it really, really hurt. With determination she dipped the paddle into the water and pushed them away from the dock. Rowing in silence for a few minutes Sammy felt like a moron when she realized how drastically they were listing towards the left and glanced back to see that her partner was struggling, brow furrowed with effort and exertion.

"I'm such an idiot," she smiled meekly. "I'm sorry I didn't think of it earlier, I'm right handed it just came natura- nevermind. Doesn't matter. Let's switch. I'll row on the left, you rest your shoulder."

"Thanks." Darius said gratefully while ahead of them the other two kayaks collided.

"Watch it!" Yasmina bit out.

"Hey," Kenji grinned with a wryly apologetic tone, pain on his face, his oar moving in short shallow strokes, coasting along while Brooklynn did most of the work. "CKK has right of way."

The six kids paddled and drifted along the calm clear waters of the lazy river. The cave was dark, damp, and cold, uncomfortably so for the Texan who felt a shiver run up her spine. It wasn't long however, before the cave opened up from a narrow tunnel in to wide cavern with gently flowing waterfalls that spilled out into a placid lake, algae, moss, and other strange subterranean plantlife illuminating the pitch with a gentle pink glow. Awestruck the kids looked around themselves taken in by the majesty, and wonder.

Ahead of them Sammy watched Yaz, her face aglow with light, and life as she stopped rowing and reached a hand out to touch the cool, crystalline water that spilled down the rock face into the pool. The peaceful smile that came to Yasmina's face in that moment put the natural beauty that surrounded them to shame. Yaz was never going to forgive her, the cowgirl thought, watching with a heartaching sense of longing, wondering how, if ever she was going to make things right between them.

As they drifted Sammy could hear the others talking in low echoing voices, their whisperes reverberating off the stone walls and making their words difficult to decipher. That was when Sammy took note of how quiet Darius was being. He wanted to know why, she thought squeezing shut her eyes with anticipation.

"Just ask." she muttered.

"It's just that you talk so much about your ranch and your family sent you here to break the law." the boy rushed out, everything tumbling from his lips all at once, the moment he'd been granted permission.

"Don't Darius you don't know anything about my family." Sammy snapped, she regretted engaging him already.

"I know they put you in danger when they sent you to spy on the park." he scoffed. "How can you still defend them?"

Sammy grew contemplative for a moment, remembering the way things used to be before their financial trouble. It had been so much better then, everything just worked, like gears in a clock. Sure there was the occasional hiccup like fewer calves live birthed one season, or a sick group of head the next, but they always dug in and worked together, and because of that they bounced back, always. They were more than a family, and stronger than a team, lifting up and supporting one another no matter the circumstances, and her parents didn't keep secrets from her. They were close, that was just they way it had always been.

That was probably the first indication that something was wrong, Sammy reasoned dipping her oar deep into the pool, when her parents started whispering, their conversations always dying away the second she walked into the room. Self-consciously Sammy had worried that they were talking about her, and she found herself beginning to question if her folks were really as supportive, and accepting as they had said they were. Then the strangers started showing up and she knew better, but still they whispered, still they lied.

In no short amount of time girl had figured out what was going on, Abryan and her would watch these people coming and going at all hours, only told not to worry about it, to keep quiet, that they were kids, they should be concentrating school and their chores, nothing else whenever they asked. 'Loan sharks,' was a word her cousin threw about with disdain, spitting to the ground each time. The girl had felt her guts knot at the suggestion, but found herself unable to believe his assumptions, until she'd seen the truth written in red with her own eyes.

"Because they didn't send me." Sammy mumbled feeling small and inconsequential as they floated over the water. "They said 'no' to Mantah Corp. They said they'd rather watch the place burn, than use one of their kids like that. But Mantah Corp just kept coming. They tried talking my little sister Marisa into coming, but I put a stop to that. I more or less agreed to hear them out though, so they sent me these files. There was page after page of expenses we had no way to pay for. We were hemorrhaging cash! And we owed so much to so many people! I read through it again, and again, and again, for days trying to figure out another way." Sammy sobbed. "Darius, I-I still can't believe how things could have gotten this bad!"

"I'm sorry." the boy apologized weakly, in the reactionary way you did when you felt for someone but could literally do nothing to improve their situation. Leaning forward he pat her gently on the back, it was sore, but the sentiment was there.

Sammy smiled through her tears, he was a good person. "You didn't do it... I chose to come here." she said, hoping to ease his unnecessary sense of bystander's guilt. "My folks didn't even know I was gone until it was too late," she laughed. "I told them I was at a slumber party... Smashing the phone was an accident, but Brooklynn is right. This is all my fault."

"Not all of it." he shook his head. "But, I still don't see why-"

"If your family was in trouble wouldn't you do anything in your power to save them?" the girl asked turning to look at him. 

He met her gaze before looking away abashed. "You remind me of my big brother." he said after a while, the analogy hurt at first, but she told herself that she was being hyper aware and oversensitive, and chose to wait and see where this was going.

"After my dad died, I was just sad. Really, really sad..." he paused with a remorseful sigh. "Even that's an understatement... But so was my mom, so was Brand, but all I could think about was how sad I was, and how much I missed him, and how much I had lost. I was selfish and it didn't really click with me for a while that they were going through exactly the same thing I was."

"Darius I'm su-"

"No, I was sad, and I was angry, and I took it out on everyone else. Then, I just kinda ignored the world for a bit, my family included." Darius went on, motioning with his paddle for Sammy to let him speak his mind. "I kinda hated Brand for a while. I'd watch him go to school, and work, work and school every day no matter what. At first it was like he didn't even notice that dad was gone, like he didn't miss him, or feel the same cold emptiness when he walked into the house. Then I found some bills while looking for a school assignment I'd lost. Do you... Do you know how much chemo costs?" he asked, voice warbling.

Turning to him, sympathy shining in her eyes Sammy shook her head. "And hospice? And a God damned funeral?" Darius was crying now, his oar sitting across his lap he rubbed his eyes with his good hand. "A lot!" he choked. "A whole lot! But that's what Brand was doing, he hadn't forgotten about dad, and he wasn't trying to move on either, he was still taking care of him long after he was gone... He was taking care of all of us, because that's what Brand does and I hung up on him last night!"

Sammy felt helpless, wanting nothing more than to rush over to the boy and wrap him up in a big warm hug as his grief robbed him of the point he'd been trying to make and he mourned the possibility of never seeing his brother again. Instead she gave him the time he needed to collect himself.

Darius cleared his throat hard a couple times before saying, "You were only thinking about your family, like him. I admire that, and I can't blame you for what you did."

"Really?" Sammy asked with hope, relief washing over her as his simple act of forgiveness alleviated much of her anxiety and despair. "Thank you!" she sighed as they glided past Ben hugging into a crying Bumpy, Yaz complaining loudly admonishing the animal for her unruly behavior.

Then Sammy noticed movement in the dim light and gave a start. Thinking that perhaps her mind had been playing tricks on her she squinted along the cave walls, then a patch of light shifted away from them. 

"You guys should the algae be moving?" she asked with concern. Then she saw movement again, more, larger shapes, shifting and pulling themselves away from the background, if she focused she could make out the camouflaged silhouettes of several large dinosaurs grazing amongst the glittering shoreline.

"Don't panic they're herbavores." Darius hastily called to the others as the animals turned to watch them with meager interest. "Unbelievable! Dr Wu must have put the bioluminescent gene into these parasaurolophuses!"

Wonderstruck the children gaped at the large beasts with bright stripes and markings as they contently kept to their own. They looked like someone cracked open a glow stick over their heads, Sammy thought, recalling the way the chemicals looked pouring down her hands that summer when she and the boys had tried convincing everyone aliens had been to the ranch by smearing the stuff across a group of hefers late one the evening. She knew it probably didn't, but as the glow fluctuated as the parasaurolophuses murmured to one another, she wondered if it felt warm to the touch.

Then Bumpy began baying at the large dinosaurs, her honking defensive as she backed into Ben, stubby little tail swinging back and forth, as though she intended to do them harm. The brightly colored animals moved closer, making waves in the water as they swam to investigate the rabble-rousing intruder. 

"Make her be quiet!" Yasmina shouted.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Ben called back, whispering to the little ankylosaurus, and running his hand across her back. "They're scarring her!"

"Yeah well she's pissing them off!" Kenji yelled, nervously smacking a parasaurolophus on the snout with his paddle.

"They're just being territorial, kinda strange for parasaurolophuses, actually, they're seen in blended herds all the time." Darius began brows joined. "I wonder if they're sick, or it is a behavioral trade off for the bioluminescence!"

"Does that really matter right now?" Brooklynn questioned as the large previously declared harmless creatures swarmed around the boats.

"Darius, what do we do?" Sammy whispered fearfully over her shoulder, afraid to aggravate the dinosaurs that were growing more and more aggressive.

"Ben, just push her in already, they did care until-"

"Screw you Kenji!" Ben shouted, hugging Bumpy protectively.

"I'll do it!" Yasmina offered as kayaks collided, pressed together jarringly by the parasaurolophus.

"No!" Ben argued.

Sammy's heart was racing as she and Darius were pressed tight against a ragged stone wall by the creatures. After everything else, she thought, pink moss rubbing off on her skin, it seemed ridiculous that this was how they were going to die. Suddenly one of the animals gave a loud trumpet and the herd stopped, looking around for signs of danger. Then as unexpectedly as the attack began, it ended, the dinosaurs hurriedly submerging themselves into the water and swimming away. Sammy took a deep, but shakey breath. 

Everyone seemed to share in their momentary respite, except for Ben who had picked up his paddle and was holding it loftily like a weapon. "Push her in?" he asked with offense, red faced as his kayak drifted past the CKK. "Push her in?" he repeated making a motion like he was going to hit the other boy, but didn't follow through, opting instead to splash the blowhard with water. Kenji moved quickly to retaliate, too quickly and froze mid-action, face contorting. "Sorry." Ben muttered turning away to cradle his unconventional pet. "And you!" he bit out glaring at Yasmina.

Sammy couldn't help but laugh at their antics, though the way Yaz turned from the boy and nodded with confident affirmation to Brooklynn, she felt her heart sink lower into her chest as they both splashed the boy who whinged and complained loudly. The Texan stared dismally at her lap, while water streamed lazily on either side of her. What a minute, she thought, they're still moving forward.

"Um, guys if we stopped rowing why are we still moving forward?" she asked, looking to see if anyone had the answer.

Darius leaned forward, bracing himself with Sammy's shoulder so that he wouldn't fall, then he gave a cry of fear and alarm. "Paddle, paddle!" he screamed. "There's a current pulling us into another tunnel!"

Rowing and fighting as hard as they could the children found the efforts wasted and in vain as they were tossed and buffeted about by churning white waters. The rapids grew in violence as they went further and further into the dark unknown of the tunnel that swallowed them. Just barely Sammy could make out a drop in the distance, and pressed her feet hard against the rests, bracing to go over it. In an unyielding darkness the girl felt herself pivot forward, then lurching go over the precipice.

Her stomach in her throat as they fell Sammy grounded herself in the boat as much as possible. Then they spilled out into a painfully bright, sunny day. Shielding her eyes Sammy turned her face away from the luminous orb in the sky, scarcely able to believe that they had made it. All of the ups, and downs, and being jostled about finally getting to her the girl felt as though she was going to lose her lunch, but they were alive. They'd made it. Falling back into her seat with a relaxed slump Sammy let out a belt of laughter.

Kenji, who had put on his sunglasses gave a start. "What now?" Ben whined.

"I know exactly where we are," the VIP explained nervously. "We're in the Jurassic World lagoon, and so is the mosasaurs!"

Everyone gasped, looking with trepidation into the murky water, waiting pensively for something to happen. "I assume mosasaurs is some kind of giant fish dinosaur that's going to try and eat us?" Ben asked.

"Yeah," Darius nodded. "But whatever you're imagining I guarantee you it's not big enough, or has enough teeth."

"Really helpful, Darius!" Brooklynn shouted irritably.

Then they saw a wake ripple through the water in the distance followed by a jagged row of spines creating a wave through the water. Slowly, menacingly, it moved towards them, and began to encircle the three yellow kayaks.

"It's circling, testing us." Brooklynn said staring with morbid fascination at the animal. "Like a shark. We're intruders in it's domain so it's investigating us before it gets confident and decides to-"

"Now who's being helpful?" Darius yelled across the water to the pink haired girl.

"This is not how Kenji wanted to go out!" the eldest cried as they all began rowing for their lives.

"This isn't on my to-do list either!" Yaz snarked.

Working with a frenzy Sammy could hear Darius behind her struggling to paddle. Her own back and neck in knots she couldn't imagine how much it hurt Darius to try and pour on the speed like this. Then she noticed the CKK was lagging behind as well, Brooklynn tearily shouting orders to her partner as he toiled. Looking back Sammy could see the monsterous shadow beneath the waves gaining, and passed a look of despair to Darius.

Sammy heard a splash. 

"No!" Brooklynn shouted.

"What the hell is she doing?" Kenji asked gaping in shock.

Vying to see what they were looking at Sammy finally caught sight of Yasmina in the water, oar held out in front of her like a boogie board legs propelling her mightily towards a pylon. "Yasmina!" Sammy screaming, her blood running cold.

"Don't stop paddling!" Ben called back to them, strain in his voice. "She said whatever happens don't stop paddling!"

"Please God, please if you're there," Sammy mumbled in a misty eyed prayer to the Lord. "Please let her be alright. Please!"

Blinking away tears Sammy focused on getting her and Darius to safety even as dread filled her mind with an abhorrent cacophony, imagined scenes playing out before the girl's eyes. A metallic clatter rang out over the lagoon, and the cowgirl turned to see Yasmina beating against the large metal pillar with her oar screaming maddeningly for the beast to come get her like some berserk Amazon woman. The mosasaurs stopped it's persuit of the rafts and went to explore this newfound development.

Buying them the time they needed Sammy rushed after Kenji who went to a control panel and quickly got to work. "They let me feed this thing before." he muttered in a distracted form of explanation. "Grab the chain!" he shouted to Yaz raising some sort of hook out of the water.

Sammy's muscles were tense and her nerves were shot as she watched Yasmina jump onto the cable, while Kenji slowly reeled her in. "Please," she begged. "Please!"

Then the mosasaurs launched itself skyward. The cable snapped and all at once the athlete was hurtling towards the ground. Sammy took off running for her. Yaz hit the concrete hard.

"Yasmina!" Sammy gasped rushing towards her.

Yaz gripped her left leg, with hands made bloody from the braided metal. "I'm fine!" she grit, though a large distended lump at the side of her knee told a different story.

Kneeling down beside her Sammy reached out to get a better look at her leg, Yaz pulled away sharply. "Thank you, for saving us." Sammy tried. "For saving me, that was amazing, you are amazing!"

"Don't!" Yasmina snapped struggling to her feet, gingerly favoring her right side. "We may need each other to stay alive, but don't for a second think that makes us friends again, because we're not, and we never will be."

Forcing herself to walk Sammy watched as Yaz shuffled away, the agony on her face preferable to spending another moment with her. Drawing her knees to her chest Sammy couldn't help but cry as Ben asked anxious questions about where all the people were. Sammy was tired, scared, and inspite of the other campers who were talking just a few feet away felt utterly alone. She was sorry she had lied, wished there was some way to fix things between them, heartbroken, she knew she couldn't.

"Hey," came a light voice as Brooklynn sat down beside her, a hand gently coming to Sammy's arm. "You ok?"

Sammy blinked up at her through watery eyes. "Nah, not really."

"Yeah, dumb question." Brooklynn winced, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. It wouldn't stay. She tried again, to the same result. Sammy watched as with a strangled scream Brooklynn tore her hair out of its messy bun, blinking back frightened tears of her own fists slamming onto her lap. Brooklynn began feverishly beating herself across the thighs, trying hard not to weep until she was able to pull herself back together. 

"Sorry." the girl apologized sheepishly as she began pulling loose pink strands free from her rubber band. "It's been a day."

"Sure has." Sammy laughed. "Are you ok?"

"I thought we had just established that, that was a dumb question, and I for one do not believe that you Sammy Gutierrez are dumb." Brooklynn smirked, slipping into her easily recognizable internet personality of wit and charm, surpressing and refusing to acknowledge her own fears and fragility in that moment.

"It's alright to be scared." Sammy told her, watching as Brooklynn haphazardly scooped her tresses into a disheveled ponytail.

"I'm not." the other girl lied before turning around arms out. "Ta-da! What do you think?"

Sammy took in the stringy, knotted, and very lopsided hair do, and couldn't help but feel for Brooklynn. "You look deranged." she laughed, earning a friendly shove from the super star, one that caught her off guard as she wondered what had caused this one-eighty. "Turn around, I got you."

"Thanks." she said turning around obediently on the bench. "I don't know her that well but I think if you give her some space she'll come around." Brooklynn said after a few minutes of Sammy carding through, and smoothing out her hair as best she could without a brush. "Maybe? I don't know. I'm gonna be honest IRL friendships aren't really my thing. But it sounds right yeah?"

Sammy worked quietly before asking. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because," Brooklynn sighed as though admitting defeat. "Kenji is right, ugh," she gagged. "That feels so wrong to say never ever repeat that." There was a pause, she seemed to have difficulty organizing her thoughts into words. "Look I've done my fair share of selfish things. I only knew what you were up to because I was also sneaking in places I shouldn't have been. You were at least doing it for family. I was doing it to impress a bunch of angry internet randos... I was just an asshole with a camera and some charm, you were trying to be a hero."

Sammy was taken aback by what Brooklynn said, the same warm relief filling her up as before when Darius said he'd forgiven her. Somehow after all the tension, and nerves, knowing that she wasn't some pariah made the girl feel completely exhausted, in the running-for-your-life-while-pursued-by-killer-dinosaurs sort of way.

"All done." she smiled, tapping the other girl on the shoulder.

Touching her hair inquisitively as she turned around with bright eyes Brooklynn smirked. "Thanks." she said before transforming into her lively, more animated persona once more. "Plus when we get out of here you're going to give me all the juicy details about you spying for Mantah Corp." she went on leaping to her feet with enthusiasm. "Brooklynn Unboxes: A Conspiracy! Pow! Pow! Try and tell me my videos are lame after that angry internet randos!"

Sammy giggled watching her fire off finger guns into the air.

"So deal?" Brooklynn asked plopping back down.

"Deal." Sammy agreed.

The friends exchanged dimly optimistic smiles as they sat in the abandoned amphitheater, and leaned in for a reassuring hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can someone please explain to me how to do page breaks? I'm going to need that knowledge for upcoming chapters! :D
> 
> Thanks for reading! :)


	18. The Day of Reckoning: Part Four

His ass was cold, Kenji thought grudgingly as he sat on a windswept bleacher that overlooked the lagoon. Stupid Ben, splashing him with nasty stupid fish monster water. Stupid fish monster, stupid dinosaurs, stupid Jurassic World! He brooded, trying hard not to shiver, the tense trembling and contracting of his muscles causing him nothing short of agony. He had sat down to try and collect his thoughts, and catch his breath. His whole body ached, but now the contact with the metal was beginning to sap his warmth, and strength. He was tired.

Battling heavy eyed against a growing fatigue Kenji looked out at the world around him. The eerie quietness, and solitude could have been beautiful when paired with the delicate colors of the sunset. That was if only the all encompassing silence and lack of people wasn't an indication of a catastrophic disaster and the very real danger that the campers were still in. Trying to put those thoughts aside he focused instead on controlling his respiration, easing himself into long slowly, drawn breaths. The view of the captivatingly painted sky, adding an almost meditative quality to his actions.

As he watched the world unfolding around him Kenji saw Yasmina slinking away on a hobbled leg like a wounded cat wanting to lick it's wounds alone. He wasn't exactly sure what had gone on between her and Sammy but, he felt, she had better get over it quick, because separating herself from everyone else was a sure fire way to get eaten. Speaking of eating he thought, hunger gnawing at his stomach, then he grimaced at the correlation of thoughts in his head. What was his problem? He wondered, secretly grateful that mind reading was purely science fiction.

Bending over the teen pawed at an abandoned tub of popcorn, afraid to bend too far, and hesitant to find out just how far 'too far' really was. Then it happened, a sharp stabbing pain in his side knocked the wind out of him as Kenji snapped up straight like a soldier in an attempted to alleviate the pain, air hissing out of his lungs. He felt his eyes welling, but pridefully blinked them back when he saw Darius walking towards him.

"What's up?" Kenji asked, flashing his pearly whites, pretending as ever he did that things were alright. The same old fake smile only this time it was used to hide an entirely different kind of pain.

"Here." the other boy muttered stooping down to fetch the popcorn from the concrete.

"I could have gotten it." Kenji snapped, giving him a hard irritable glance, before snatching the discarded, buttery goodness.

"Uh-huh." Darius nodded falling onto the bench beside him.

"Thanks." Kenji muttered after a while, munching on the styrofoamy, slightly stale popcorn. 

At least it was salty, he thought shoveling an obscene amount of the popped kernels into his mouth. It was ...wet in spots. Barf, was he eating mosasaurs water? Still beggers couldn't be choosers. Darius must have felt the same way as he tore the lid and straw from a cup that had tipped to the side, spilling out much of its sticky, sugary contents, and tipped the brown liquid back.

"It's Pepsi." he announced, holding the cup towards Kenji. Taking the paper vessel the older boy followed his example, taking a swig and passing it back, before offering some of his corn de la pop.

A ripple in the water caught his attention, and then Kenji saw the wake left by the mosasaurs rock the kayaks making them bob up and down in the water. That had been a close call, much closer than he, or any of the others would have liked. Worse still? He had been completely useless throughout the ordeal. Kenji hated that feeling of helplessness inability, he didn't like being at the mercy of the universe, or a burden, he constantly felt like a burden.

As the boys sat together Kenji searched for the other members of the team, the cotton candied head of Brooklynn easily spotted in the dwindling light. That was when he noticed Sammy was tidying Brooklynn's hair. Huh, she had actually listened to him and taken his advice, he thought looking at the way the influencer smiled as they chatted before jumping up onto the bench and saying something energetically, arms sweeping through the air. Maybe he wasn't such a fuck up after all, if he could pull something like that off.

Ben and Bumpy were, somehow, sleeping. Kenji pressed his lips together in a hard line. He was rife with conflicting emotions. How could they sleep right now, he wondered staring with knit brows at the admittedly cute scene. But then it just reminded him of how useless the other boy had been, and how much strain keeping him and the baby ankylosaurus alive had caused. Anger began bubbling in the teen's chest, hadn't they intended to ditch the dead weight somewhere? But Ben wouldn't have it. 

Lastly, he realized with a yawn, he was envious. Were they just that much more tired than the rest of them that they could pass out like that? Or did they maybe trust implicitly that the others wouldn't leave them behind? Either way Kenji wanted nothing more than to sleep too, but also kick their bench and scream for them to get their asses up.

Turning away from them he managed to pick out Yasmina, resting her back against a stairwell, her bum leg outstretched. As he watched he saw her shoulders heaving, her whole body pitching forward with a bitter rhythm. She was still crying, he thought. As it often did the little green snake of self despise coiled tightly around his innards, and he felt bad for judging her. The girl was going through a lot but was too prideful to let others see it, and too vain to admit weakness ... kinda like him ... God damnit he was a wounded cat too, wasn't he?

"So, not to be a total downer but operation find people to help us is clearly a bust." Kenji observed.

"My dad used to talk about coming here for years," Darius replied his voice thin. "and here we are."

Kenji felt a twinge. Dead parents. Somehow since finding out about Darius' dad after weeks of playful teasing and goading it always felt like when the two of them were alone it would always circle back to their dead parents. Well, Kenji conceded, it wasn't the worst thing in the world, it was honestly kinda nice to talk about his mom from time to time. At home, it seemed like no one dared to even mention her existence.

"Yep here we are." Kenji agreed with a sigh. "If it helps my mom would have hated this place, you know, before all the rampaging and carnage. She tried to talk my dad out of investing, but he wouldn't listen, he knew business, she didn't, that made her point of view invalid. She was against zoos all together though, didn't think it was fair to keep animals that in the wild had miles and miles of natural home ranges in little tiny pens." Smiling down at him Kenji elbowed the other boy. "So you know balance out the karmic scales or whatever. Your dad would have loved it my mom would have hated it. Besides I'm sure they're up there watching us right now losing their fucking minds!"

Darius laughed nervously, giving Kenji a side eyed glance, "Yeah."

"Dude, do you know how proud your dad is watching you take charge, saving the day on the zipline, banding us all together, quoting him like he's a president or something?" Kenji enthused, trying to amp the other boy up. "He's up there smiling, and cheering you on I guarantee it!"

"And your mom's probably just as proud of you!" Darius added with a smile.

"Yeah, or she found a way to have heart attack in heaven..." Kenji muttered grimly, suddenly misty eyed. "Sorry, we're good." he cleared his throat. "All I meant was she's probably scared right now. Probably up there shaking her head, grabbing your dad by the ear and scolding him for raising someone so reckless. She would too, just grab him by the ear and start shouting at him in Japanese, I've seen her do it!" they enjoyed a hearty laugh at the mental imagery, a warming comfort found in the absurd thought. "Who knows, maybe one of them will give us a sign or something!"

As the sun sank lower and lower behind the horizon Kenji dusted his hands off and stood up. After much consideration he had decided that checking on Yaz was the best course of action as oppose to leaving her alone. If a little heart to heart could make him feel better, he hoped it would do the same for her.

"Anyway," he smiled as he turned to leave. "Welcome to Jurassic World!"

All of the kids gave a start at the loud, ominous blare of a siren that rang out over the water. Other sirens positioned around the park and jungle sounding as well, adding a foreboding echo as the alarm was raised. Everything was fear and panic as the children rushed to regroup. Racing down the steps Kenji and Darius, met Sammy and Brooklynn at the base, wide eyed and scared.

"What's going on?" the cowgirl asked a nervous shiver running down her spine.

"I don't know." Darius confessed looking around apprehensively as Yasmina limped up to the group.

Nipples, nice, Kenji thought, his eyes drawn immediately to the athlete's breasts her wet undershirt clinging. Nope eyes up, he scolded himself, she's your friend. Then he noticed the way Yasmina rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to drive away the goosebumps, and chill that had overtaken her. Again the boy felt bad for his own selfishness, unaware of the plight of others. Here he'd been griping about being cold from a little splash when she had swam with the damned thing.

Then as they were standing around without direction the sirens stopped and a voice came over the speakers, "Attention: All park goers must report to the South Ferry Dock for immediate evacuation. The last ferry departs in two hours." It said, before another voice came on. 

"Atención: todos los visitantes del parque deben presentarse en el muelle de South Ferry para una evacuación inmediata. El último ferry sale en dos horas."

And another "Zhùyì: Suǒyǒu gōngyuán yóukè bìxū xiàng nán dùlún mǎtóu bàogào, yǐ lìjí chèlí. Zuìhòu de dùlún zài liǎng gè xiǎoshí nèi chūfā."

And another "Attention: Tous les visiteurs du parc doivent se présenter au South..."

"That's it? No explanations that's all we get!" Brooklynn said with exasperation as the message was repeated again and again in various languages.

"Come on we have to move," Darius commanded with a look of concern. "And the only way we can get there is if we run."

"Um, are we sure that's the best way to get there?" Sammy asked, trying to look at Yaz with discretion from the corner of her eye.

"I'm fine!" the other girl snapped. "I've competed with a torn ACL."

"Yeah but your leg's starting to look like a fucking hotdog!" Kenji argued gesturing to the tight swollen skin that surrounded the girl's knee. It looked bad, and he doubted if she could even bend it.

Yaz glared at him before saying, "You should be way more worried about Ben and Bumpy." as the stragglers came up behind her.

"What we should all be worried about is catching a boat out of here, and naturally we have a problem!" Ben explained spreading out a map of the park on a nearby bench. "We're here, and the docks are on the southern tip of the island. Even if we ran at peak Yaz speed there's no way we'd make the last boat out."

"You don't know that!" Sammy shouted fearfully.

Ben looked up with a lost expression of defeat, "Yes I do. I never wanted to come here, so I tried to be prepared for any eventuality. I memorized the evacuation plan on the ferry ride over!"

Everyone groaned, turning away from him.

"Always the fucking sunshine with you!" Kenji yelled, his heart hammering, tiny dark orbs obscuring his vision, he was getting a headache.

Darius never one to give up feverishly tried coming up with some desperate, haphazard plans. "Came we used those somehow?" he pointed to the kayaks. "Or send someone ahead to tell the ferry people to wait?"

"Or we can build a couple of jetpacks real quick!" Brooklynn added her voice dripping with condescension and sarcasm. "Oh we should befriend a unicorn! Face it, it's hopeless."

It was then that a different voice filled the air, "We will be arriving at the main street! Your destination for fine dining and shopping at Jurassic World! Followed by the Jurassic World Lagoon, and the South Ferry Docks." the children watched with awe and hope as the electric train rolled towards them. They were saved.

"Monorail, what-what!" Kenji laughed.

"Nicely played universe!" Brooklynn yielded with a smile.

"Hurry!" their unofficial leader called as he raced towards the station.

Everyone started running, but thinking better of it Kenji ducked down a little corridor that went beneath the stands. He knew where he was going, he reasoned, even as he questioned whether or not the detour was worth the risk. Darting towards a gift shop, he stopped, frozen in shock. There was a dead guy on the floor, no two. Their faces were swollen and bruised, the treadmarks of shoes imprinted on the backs of their shirts. They'd been trampled. Further down the narrow tunnel he saw many other people all killed by mass crowd panic. A kid with a dinosaur shaped balloon that still floated with whimsy tied to their wrist lay crushed, half pinned by a bathroom door, blood pooling from their mouth and nose. The gruesome sight gripped his attention as they lay trod upon, and abandoned.

Trembling with unease, and sickened by the sight he darted into the shop carelessly grabbing an armful of towels from a shelf, and a hoodie from a clothing rack, tacking the whole display down in the process. He had to get out of there. Hurrying to catch up, he found that beyond the giant bowl of the stadium there was much if the same, crows and other birds already eagerly getting to work on their free buffet. Kenji felt the sweet and oily slick of soda and popcorn wet the back of his throat, but fought to keep it down. He was just trailing Ben who with one of her arms around his shoulders was helping Yaz as she fell behind the others.

"You know it's kinda nice having some company back here." Ben smiled in that awkward way he had, trying to make light of their situation.

"Shut up Ben." the girl grit.

Unable to be of much help in supporting her weight Kenji took up position on Yasmina's other side and tossed a towel over her head, roughing the fabric through her hair as they went. She looked at him with surprise, then anger, before muttering her thanks.

They had just reached the platform when Darius and Sammy doubled back, ducking behind a wall, nervously indicating that the others shouldn't venture beyond that point. Shoving the towels and hoodie at Yaz where she slumped against the wall Kenji peaked around the corner to see a large, dark colored dinosaur, with a long gore caked toothy snout. It's fingers at the end of long arms wiggled pensively through the air as it ate greedily at one of the fallen park goers. The nervous way it looked around made Kenji believe that it was fearful that something would come to steal away it's meal at any moment.

"Baryonyx." Darius whispered motioning for Kenji to hide.

The kids waited for several tension filled moments, until Darius made a run for it. Kenji watched as the other boy took a deep breath, picked a soda can up off the ground and threw it, providing the others with the much needed distraction for them to limp over to the stairs. Thank God for messy tourists, Kenji thought as the decoy worked. As stealthily as possible the six kids made their way up the stairs, until Bumpy who thought she knew how this game worked trotted up ahead, knocking a Starbucks cup down after her. Screw you God, and your messy tourists! Kenji swore mentally, wincing as he waited for the rattle of the cup to give them away. To everyone's relief Brooklynn intercepted it.

Racing up to the landing Kenji felt an instantaneous rush, and was about to let out a victorious whoop when Brooklynn slapped her hand over his mouth. Oh, right. 

The train pulled up, it's automatic doors opening and, "Welcome to the Jurassic World Lagoon, next stop Dock Landing!" a woman's loud voice announced.

Turning the baryonyx alerted their presence came charging up the stairs with a tremendous bellow. Sammy and Brooklynn rushed aboard Kenji following close behind. From where he stood Kenji felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of the beast lunging for and almost nabbing Ben. Then the doors began to slide closed. Darting forward Kenji wedged himself painfully between them. They bounced open with a chime "Please stand clear of the closing doors." the voice said, before the sliding panels attempted to close again. The second time they bounced open the girls jump in too trying to force them open wide.

The trio watched with horror as Yasmina fell, scrambling backwards as the baryonyx snapped greedily at her dragging leg. With a shout Darius pushed passed Ben, grabbing the girl under her arms, the baggy oversized jacket she wore enabling him to get a better grip as her hauled her up a few steps and out of the monsters reach as it tumbled roaring angrily. And like that, he again saved the day, it was kinda hot when he did that, even though he's such a scrawny guy, Kenji found himself thinking before they all dashed for the open door, the hero holding his shoulder sweat broken across his brow.

Kenji collapsed backwards, a bright flash of pain flooding his vision. He almost passed out when Ben running head long for the monorail crashed into him. They skidded across the floor, and when Kenji was aware enough of anything else but the searing fire that filled his lungs, he felt the trembling of spindly arms wrapped around him. Ben's face buried in his chest as he cried. Kenji returned the gesture, holding onto the other boy in spite of how it hurt to do so. It felt good, in a way, felt right.

Then the moment past and all he felt was frustration, and anger. "Get off me man, what are you two?" he asked pushing Ben away. "Go hug your dinosaur or something."

Settling himself on a bench Kenji watched apprehensively as everyone else began celebrating in excitement and relief. Kenji however, couldn't let his guard down, refusing to believe that they were safe, something always happened when they thought they were safe. No way it's that easy, something bad is going to happen, he thought, something bad always happens. As the moon rose no one talked about the baryonyx, or all of the dead people, but their bloated, battered faces haunted the boy.

"It's over. Guys, we did it, we're going home!" Darius breathed, a huge smile spreading across his face. The teens began whooping and shouting jumping around on the seats like maniacs. Kenji who couldn't fight his anxieties, like Ben watched from the sidelines.

"This calls for a celebration!" Brooklynn announced flopping back onto a bench.

"I might be able to help with that," Ben said unzipping his pack and producing several candy bars. "Stashed a few treats for the road."

"Little Ben is useful." Kenji smirked, taken in by the gentle smile on Ben's face. He looks so proud of himself, he thought.

Starved Kenji took a huge bite of what he was surprised to find was chocolate beneath the wrapper, knowing Ben he'd assumed it would be a granola bar or something crappy like that. His watering taste buds were instantly assaulted by a deep nutty, earthy, almost black licorice like flavor that filled his nose. His teeth felt like there was sand in them. Kenji grimaced. "What the hell did you just feed me?"

Everyone began spitting the repulsive bar out in little brown puddles.

"Ben someone stole your chocolate and put dirt in it." Sammy said with concern before throwing a glare at Kenji, like it was his fault, a prank gone wrong.

"Seriously are you trying to poison us?" Kenji asked incredulously. "I did not survive all of that just to be taken out by some shrimp, and a couple of arsenic candy bars!"

Unamused, Ben shared his with Bumpy. "They're carob bars. They pair perfectly with-"

"Carob juice!" Darius winced looking at the little carton in his hand. "Awesome."

"Carob is nature's chocolate!" Ben explained. "Just as delicious, without all the sugar, caffeine, slave labor, and animal abuse!"

God damnit Ben, always with the doom and gloom.

"What's wrong with caffeine and sugar?" Brooklynn scoffed. "As soon as I get home, well, to my dad's I'm gonna hug my espresso machine. I may never let go."

Turning on his charm for the pretty girl Kenji turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. "You know I've often described myself as a tall hot drink."

Everyone groaned.

"You could never be coffee!" Brooklynn snapped.

"I could be coffee." Kenji muttered, pride wounded.

"I just can't wait to get back to training." Yasmina said, gingerly massaging her leg. "But I suppose physical therapy is going to have to come first..."

"It's gonna be weird for things to go back to normal, like are video games going to seem boring now?" Darius laughed. "How about you, what's the first thing you're going to do?"

"Depends on which house I go to." Kenji gloated. "If you're referring to the main house, that also depends on which wing of the mansion. East wings usually off limits, real Beauty and the Beast style, dad and Candy are probably away on business right now. So I guess I'll go down stairs to the bowling alley. The staff always lets me win... Life of a VIP." Loneliness and sorrow, crept into Kenji's demeanor.

"So what have you missed Ben?" Sammy asked brightly, trying to shift the tone of the conversation.

His mood shifting with her when the opportunity to harass his favorite doormat arose Kenji was quick to jump in. "Let me guess, you can't wait to get home to your closet of dork pouches!"

"Ha-ha, very funny." Ben rolled his eyes.

"Seriously Ben, you've had juice boxes for days! How much stuff can you fit in that thing?" Darius asked.

"One, a lot, and two obviously the first thing I'm going to do when I get back is restock it!" Ben commented with a laugh. It was bad, it was so bad, that somehow it was funny, everyone joined in his mirth.

"I still can't believe how much went wrong." Brooklynn mused. "Do you remember that time we almost got eaten?"

"Which time?" Yasmina snarked. "What happened just a minute ago, the time with 'Eddie,' or the time with-"

"Jayson..." Darius muttered, the light in his eyes dimming as he stared down at his hands. Running his fingers together.

The train ride was beginning to feel less like a victorious celebration and more like a grim wake for mourning. The children fell silent, and contemplative of just how much death they had witnessed, and how close they had all come time and again to the end of their own mortal coils.

"Let's raise our carob juices, to Jayson." Brooklynn said putting a hand ontop of Darius'. "Who's quick thinking and selflessness saved our lives, and inspired us to keep going, no matter what."

Darius smiled sadly up at her, they shared a hug, and the campers drank solemnly.

"It'll actually be kinda nice to go back to the low level gnawing dread rather than the sense of all encompassing impending doom." Ben observed.

"Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you?" Kenji snapped.

A loud boom split cool night air, the train shuddered. It sounded like an explosion. Everyone hurried to a window, but the darkness shrouded all in secrecy.

"I don't think it was near us, we're ok. We're still ok." Darius reassured everyone, slowly they began to ease up.

"I know camp wasn't what we would have wanted it to be," Sammy smiled. "but at least we're leaving this place with five new friends! To the six of us being friends for life! Clink!" she said raising her carton in a toast.

No one could quite meet her gaze.

"Guys, hello? Wait do you guys not see us as friends?" the girl asked sadly.

"I mean, we only knew each other for a few weeks." Brooklynn replied. "Yeah we've been through a lot together but I'm not sure that really qualifies us for 'friends-for-life.'"

"We were thrown together at random, we have nothing in common, and what friends we did make turned out to be bold faced lairs." Yaz growled, casting the Texan an angry look.

"Besides," Ben mumbled, petting Bumpy sadly. "now that it's over what are the odds that we'll ever see each other again."

Kenji looked about at the other teens forlorn, his heart a flutter with anxiety. He kinda liked having them around, even when they weren't getting along. He didn't want to go back to being alone all the time, not anymore. Misty eyed he turned away from the others, and stared out at the dark vast nothingness he could see. He had finally found people, his people. He didn't want to lose them.

Everyone was quiet.

"Coming up on your right you'll see our eighteen hole dinosaur themed golf course. One of the many things that makes our park Jurassic!"

"What does that even mean?" Brooklynn laughed with exhaustion.

"I thought I knew, I always had this idea of Jurassic World, my dad used to say this place was 'Allosaurus and a bag of chips.'" Darius smiled fondly. "He was so corny."

"Um, was?" Ben asked.

That was when Kenji realized that not everyone knew, and how shitty he'd been to Darius back at the treehouse. God damn, no wonder they were falling apart. Kenji didn't deserve friends like them. If they moved on without him after they all went home, that was fine, better for them anyway. No one wanted to be friends with an asshole.

"Cancer." the other boy muttered dismally.

"I'm sorry Darius." the cowgirl started before smacking herself in the head. "Ugh nice one Sammy you ding-dong. Like sorry is going to help, sorry is what everyone says and it never makes anything better does it?"

"At least you had something with your dad, and a way to remember him." Kenji offered, trying to be of some comfort as he play slugged him on the chin, earning a little grin. "I can count on one hand the number of times my dad and I have done anything together."

"Kenji, that's just real sad. What about your mama?" Sammy asked.

Kenji shook his head. "Only one who probably cares is Candy, but I hate her... And I really don't know why... But did I mention the bowling alley, pool, and arcade?"

"When I get home I'm having an all day spa with my sissies, my mama, and my Abuela!" Sammy declared warmly.

"I don't think my moms are ever going to let me out of the houses again." Brooklynn laughed.

"Come again?" Yaz smiled curiously.

"Seriously, none of you watched my channel?" the streamer scoffed.

"I did!" Sammy said bouncing in her seat.

"My bios got divorced, my mom married another woman named Nika and my dad's been dating a woman named Emily since I was like eleven." Brooklynn explained. "They're even gonna have a kid together, but I guess the whole my mom being a secret lesbian and leaving him for another woman gave dad commitment issues or something because he still hasn't put a ring on that woman's finger, the asshole." she laughed. 

"I consider Emily my third mom, she loves me just as much, and is just as protective of me as the other two. My parents all get along, like scary well too. I'm honestly just waiting for the day when they realize that they're all in love with each other and poly-gang up or something." she said propping her feet up on the adjacent bench, leaving everyone stunned.

"That, that's a lot to unpack there." Darius grinned.

"Eh, maybe, but it's my family and I wouldn't trade them for the world. What about you Yaz?" Brooklynn shrugged casually.

"I already said it." Yasmina said with aggravation as she continued to massage and worked at her discolored knee. "Physical therapy, then training. I'm not going to let a little setback rob me of my chance to run in the olympics. And who knows, after the way I took the mosasaurs tank, maybe I _can_ cut it as a triathlete, and it's not too late to expand my goals. That'll show them."

"I'm gonna bring all the mattresses into the living room," Darius mused, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. "And all the blankets, and pillows in the house and just have a movie marathon with Brand and my mom."

"Aw, that sounds real nice." Sammy smiled.

Ben was preoccupied looking through his fanny pack with frustration, muttering to himself until he found what he was looking for. "Bumpy stepped in something icky and I'm low on sanitizer." he announced to anyone who might care to listen.

"Ben, why are you even here?" Kenji asked irritably.

"What he means is you're scared of dinosaurs, and the outside, and sometimes the inside, and germs, and people, and-" Darius said rattling off a short part of an extensive list.

"Yeah, seriously that's exactly what I'm talking about." Kenji nodded.

"My mom works... worked for Mr Masrani. She got me into camp, said it'd be good for me to meet new people, and get out of my comfort zone. Turned my own therapist against me..." Ben muttered. Everyone looked at one another with a blend of confusion and concern. "It's been a nightmare, I'm used to being scared all the time, but I'm tired of running, and almost being eaten, and knowing that today is the day I die, and of holding everyone back." his voice broke. "Making you all risk your lives for me. Trust me, I'm not worth it. When I get home I'm going to my room and I am never coming out. A life wasted. I might as well be-"

"Shut up!" Kenji bellowed, leaping to his feet, fire in his belly. How dare he! "You don't get to tell us what's important to us, or who we wanna risk our lives for you asshole!"

"Kenji's right- yuck! I see what you meant Brooklynn! It's unnerving." Sammy starting trying to settle things down as she reached out to put a hand on the now sobbing boy's back. "You matter to us Ben, and if after all this is over you spend the rest of your life alone reading books, if that makes you happy then that's a life well spent!"

"Yeah, what Sammy said." Brooklynn chimed in from his other side.

Ben smiled tearily as he cuddled Bumpy who looked up at him with adoration. "Thanks... I guess it wasn't all bad, if I hadn't of come I never would have met-"

The monorail rocked violently from side to side. The children ducked low, cowering in fear. The car rocked again and the lights flickered. Darius seemed to spot something through the window. The others watched as he ran to the back of the monorail alert and full of dread. He cupped his hands around his eyes and looked out the window, reeling in terror almost immediately.

"Guys, we've gotta turn off the light!" he shouted grabbing a flashlight from the emergency wall mount. They all watched as he climbed onto a nearby bench and started smashing florescent bulbs like a crazy person. Sparks and glass flew everywhere, white smokey vapors roiled around the boy's head, yellow light became blue before dying away. Electricity sizzling through the air, the smell of ozone heavy in the tiny space no one knew what to make of the situation.

Creeping forward Kenji peered out the window and gasped. A whole horde of winged monsters flew after them, screaming with fury. The fear was overwhelming as Kenji ripped a flashlight from the wall and followed Darius' example, doing his best to ignore the way his chest pulled tight and ached as he reached high above his head.

"Flying reptiles are basically sea birds," Darius was explaining as they worked. "And are attracted to shiny moving objects, and with all these lights on-"

"We're a shiny moving object!" Sammy gasped.

The girls made their way to the wall and retrieved the implements of their salvation, and began to shatter the luminous bulbs.

"What should I do?" Ben asked, left unarmed by the quick reaction of the others.

"Just stay out of the way!" Brooklyn snapped when she tripped and nearly fell over him in her haste.

"Stay down Ben, look out for Bumpy." Kenji instructed over his shoulder looking at the boy crouched on the floor.

Kenji was beginning to feel light-headed again, unable to take a complete breath, everything hurt, and in the midst of it all his heart was thundering like mad. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping him going at this point, the screeching of the pterosaurs shrill and constant. The train rocked violently, a hateful winged monster smashing into the window next to Kenji, the boy let out a cry that a mixture of panic and strain. 

Suddenly with a shower if glass, the back car went dark, Ben screamed, and then they could see the creatures swarming, their eyes glowing scornfully against the night sky, their great wide wings blocking out the stars.

The kids turned from side to side, penned in, surrounded everywhere they look. The apprehension lasted only a moment however, and soon they fled into next car to repeat the process. Kenji and Darius worked with a frezied mania at the lights while Brooklynn half dragged Yasmina over the gap. Out of the corner of his eye the eldest camper saw Sammy hurl Ben in like a sack of potatoes, shoving Bumpy forward with her foot before rushing to help.

Panting as they moved to the third car Kenji paused to catch his breath, knees weak he leaned against the doorframe between the cars. "Kenji?" Ben asked, his voice high and pinched with fear.

"I'm fine!" Kenji shouted. "Just keep going."

Ben looked at him eyes watery, but jaw set like he might argue. Instead of saying anything however the boy reached out towards Kenji, wrapping his hands tight around his arm and heaved Kenji up. Looking down at him Kenji ruefully accepted his help.

"Smile, you're at Jurassic World!" the control panel beside the door said with a chime. "We hope you're having a Jurassic ti-" Kenji smashed the panel with satisfaction.

"Oh my God!" Brooklynn gasped staring at something out the window.

"At least now we know what that boom was!" Sammy larked ever the grating optimist.

On the tracks ahead of them at a sharp bend there was another train, it was on fire and under siege. As he stared with a fresh stunned sense that his life was about to end, something struck the glass, splintering it. Kenji heard Ben scream before pivoting forward, catching himself but just barely on a bench. Ben yelling frightened apologies where he huddled onto the floor, covering his head. He was a coward, Kenji thought spitefully as Bumpy bleating made her way to him, but if it was the last thing he did, Kenji knew he had to protect him.

"Front car, there's a control panel," Kenji said in the most commanding tone he could muster, moving towards the door. "VIP tour, I was eight, they let me drive!"

The kids hit the door, shoving and pushing it with all their might, Darius tried vainly to break the glass with his flashlight. "If we can't stop or change tracks," he said, voice hollow with fear. "We're going to hit that thing at full speed."

That was when the boy seemed to have an idea, "The emergency hatch!"

"What?" Kenji balked. "You can't go out there that's where the flying whatevers are!"

"We've got no choice," Darius said with the same grim determination that had carried them this far. "Me and- I'm the only one who can fit."

Darius stood on a seat, one foot on the backrest as he positioned himself for the jump. He took a deep breath and leaped, catching himself with both hands. He went rigid, eyes wide as there was a pop and he sagged drastically to the left before his grip failed him. Hitting the ground screaming Darius held his shoulder. Kenji didn't even need to walk all the way over to see that he had dislocated it again. Kneeling down helplessly he tried to calm the injured boy down and he writhed, feet kicking in the air, tears streaming from his eyes when Kenji heard Ben whispering to Bumpy.

"You're going to be ok," he was saying. "I promise I'm going to take care of you."

They were all too preoccupied to notice something was amiss until they heard the rushing air like a tornado from over head. "Ben!" the name ripped itself from Kenji's chest, as he jump up reaching out to grab one of the boy's dangling feet, but he was too late.

"Distract them!" Darius shouted vying against the pain for clarity. "Use the flashlights, distract them for Ben!"

Please, please let this work! Kenji thought running towards the back of the monorail, shining his meager beam into the pitch beyond the glass. He was fighting back tears, trying hard not to think about what they were doing and why as every passing second stretched into an eon of trepidatious uncertainty. Then the horn blared. He'd done it, he made it to the control panel! Kenji thought. Then they turned, everyone stumbled, the earsplitting sound of glass and metal scraping against each other, sparks flying deafened the teens who covered their ears and braced for the worst. Then the other train fell, and the big scaly birds flew off.

Running to the front of the train where they had left Darius sprawled on the floor they witnessed a victorious Ben emerged from the front car, a broad smile of his face, eyes glittering with life in a way Kenji had never seen before. His heart felt full at the sight. 

"You did it Ben, you saved us." Darius said with a troubled smile.

"Ben, Ben, Ben," Kenji chanted with a smirk, the others picked it up, the hero of the hour was practically glowing, his cheeks pink with humble embarassment.

Kenji moved forward to hug him, when glass exploded, a giant winged beast swooped in and grabbed Ben, trying to drag him out the other side. The warmth of the moment was severed replaced by the cold cruel tang of horror. Everything moved all at once, while in the same instant hardly anything seemed to happen at all. Tripping over Darius, who scrambled forward on his belly Kenji lunged after Ben, managing to grab him by the front of his shirt, with his other hand the boy clung to the door.

Kenji felt something tearing in his chest, a halo of light narrowing his field of vision as he struggled to hang onto the twig of a boy that had never seemed more heavy. Darius who's good hand clutched tightly to Ben's forearm, was saying something, but Kenji's ears were ringing and he couldn't make out the words. Everything became a pinprick, the world fading away into the meanless nothing that it was, all that mattered now was Ben. He was so frightened, Kenji thought with abrupt clarity, his gaze locked onto Ben's wide, tear strained blue eyes as they looked at each other.

Kenji felt the fabric slipping out from between his fingers and in a desperate ploy to hold on just a little while longer released his grip on the door frame, and grabbed Ben's fanny pack. Kenji felt himself sliding forward towards the edge, when someone grabbed him around the waist. They just had to pull him back in, Kenji thought, it wasn't hard, they just had to pull him back in! But he didn't have the breath to say so.

Turning with a wheeze he tried to make Darius understand, that was when he saw the terrified expression on his face. To Kenji's shock, Darius pulled away, recoiling from Ben. It was only a half a second's worth of hesitation before Darius tried to reaffirm his hold on Ben's arm, but that half a second was just enough time for the boy to slip between his fingers. Ben's full weight pulled down on Kenji, then the strap broke, buttons snapped, and he was plummetting towards the ground, plagued and harried by pterosaurs who fought and tore at him with their beaks and talons, his scream of Kenji's name fading into the distance.

Laying across the floor Kenji watched until there was nothing left to see. He sat up and looked Darius who stared down at his palms. "I-I scratched him..." Darius whispered, his voice far away, removed from what was happening all around him. "I didn't want to hurt him- not like- I scratched him- I-"

Reeling back Kenji hit the other boy across the face as hard as he could. "Kenji!" the girls screamed trying to break things up, Brooklynn retighting her grip around his legs as the combatant tried to stand.

"Get off me!" Kenji bellowed kicking the girl away from him.

"You let him go!" Kenji raged, going after Darius again. "You let him go!"

"Enough!" Yasmina shouted, putting herself between them. "It was an accident. What did you want us to do, jump after him?"

"I would have if that bitch hadn't-" Kenji started, only to stop. His whole world tilted, listing savagely to one side like a capsized ship. "I would have." he repeated falling backwards in shock and dispair.

He was gone. Ben was gone. Kenji hadn't realized, hadn't known, until now, how much that pesimistic bookworm had really meant to him. This wasn't just some casual hook up in the coat room at one of the few parties his dad had actually allowed him to attend. It wasn't even a mutual arrangement between classmates to bang one out in the school bathrooms when class was boring, their confidence that their families wealth would carry them through life making education feel optional.

They hadn't even kissed and yet, somehow Ben, and his stupid nervous smile, and the stupid way he clung to him, and even the smell of his stupid fucking hand sanitizer meant so much more to Kenji than any of the others.

And that Kenji realized was what made it so damned scary. Why he couldn't accept it. Why he had to sabotage it every chance he got.

That was what made it real.

"We're going the wrong way!" someone said. 

The others began rushing to and fro in a panic as Kenji sat despondent, wishing he could cry, but something had broken inside. He just didn't feel anything anymore.

"We have to jump!"

"Kenji?" It was Sammy, she was jostling him. "Kenji we have to jump." The other campers broke off in an urgent conversation, before the girl tried again, laying a piece of fabric over the young man's hand. Kenji's eyes drifted to the strap of the fanny pack, the frayed stitching staring at him, and still he felt nothing but a growing emptiness inside. "Kenji," Sammy sobbed. "Someone has to take care of Bumpy now. I think Ben would want it to be you."

"Bumpy?" Kenji heard himself say.

Turning he saw the baby animal calling out into the wind beyond the open door balefully crying for her adoptive parent. A rush of tears welled in the young man's eyes. "Bumpy. It's alright, shhh, I'll protect you. You're not alone. I'll protect you..."

"The only way to do that is of we go right now!" Brooklynn shouted coming to stand beside him.

"Go where?" Kenji asked, failing to understand the meaning behind her words. Tearily the pink haired girl pointed to the jungle that blurred past them.

"We're waiting for that hill, the slope should help." she went on.

Kenji stood, flooded with terror, as he watched the hill grow closer and closer. He didn't want to jump. His whole body was quaking as he readied himself and his new charge. He didn't want to do this. He held tight onto Bumpy. He didn't want to jump. Oh God, is this what it felt like for Ben?

Kenji jumped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Spinach Puffs! :'(
> 
> Ugh there isn't anyone I don't feel bad for in this one!
> 
> This hurt to write, I hope y'all liked it, and it hit all the cords I was aiming for.
> 
> I switched Toro for a baryonyx because I can't see how Toro can still be hanging around the mosasaurs lagoon when Dave and Roxie arrive, and then leg it all the way to the tunnels if the kids had to take a monorail to make the same distance in a time frame of two hours. A little continuity problem I noticed with the show so I fixed it.
> 
> Also it's like one in the morning so there might me some spelling/grammar errors that I've missed, if you find any please bring them to my attention right away. I'm super tired but am going to be busy over the next couple days and wanted to post this while I had a chance!
> 
> Thanks for reading! :D


	19. The Day of Reckoning: Part Five

Wind whipped violently past Brooklynn's face. Her eyes stinging and watering profusely as she struggled to keep them open. In the moments she had to think since leaping from the moving train the girl knew she had overcorrected her fall. Shock and fear hit her gut with the cold rush of half melted ice. In stark clarity she knew she had no way to save herself. Time slowed down. Then, in that brief space between one second and the next her mind fled away, conjuring images of a simpler time when leaping had been just as terrifying, but oh so thrilling. 

It was the high dive at the public pool, she'd been seven, clad in a lavender suit and tutu. She remembered her mom and dad waiting in the water below cheering her on. She'd been scared, her arms and legs covered in goosebumps as the wind stole the warmth from her body, teeth chattering. People were shouting at her to hurry up, the lifeguard kept blowing her whistle motioning Brooklynn down one way or the other. A little boy called up to her from the ladder dubbing her a "baby." Finally, Brooklynn had just gone for it. It had been her first big adventure and major surge of adrenaline. The girl who jumped again and again that day couldn't ever get enough of the rush, or so she'd thought.

Blinking reality came flooding back. This time it wasn't refreshing blue water rushing up to meet her, but rather the cold hard a ground, and she was going to hit it face first. Brooklynn's thoughts were disjointed as she tried to command her body to move, to react, to do something. Her hands came up just in time to shield her face. Brooklynn hit the dirt, and knew immediately that something was wrong. Tucking her arms protectively into her chest she rolled with the impact, gravity carrying her down hill, rocks and twigs battering her along the way. The dull browns and greens of the jungle at night blurred dizzyingly with the blacks and blues of the starlit heavens. Over and over she tumbled until she hit something she recognized as a someone and stopped.

Laying with her forehead pressed into the cool dirt Brooklynn struggled to regain her breath, the whole world still reeling all about her. The only fragment of reality that kept her disoriented mind tethered was the innate knowledge that there was something, very, very wrong with her arms. That, and the memory of sheer horror on Ben's face just before- A sob left the girl, followed by another, tears leaving dirty streaks on her face as dust and dirt clung to the moisture. Pull yourself together, she commanded, you're not out of the woods yet, pull yourself together! 

Sitting up after a minute the girl stared down at her appendages as they rested in her lap, and her heart skipped a beat. They were bent. Not at an extreme angle, but there was a noticable curve on the side of each wrist, her hands pointing outwards by degrees. In shock Brooklynn gawked wide eyed before trying and succeeding to wiggle her fingers. It didn't hurt so much as it was sore, and there was an intense amount of pressure, like someone was squeezing hold of her arms.

"You alright?" Darius groaned from where he lay beside her. The boy didn't try to get up, instead he stared blanky at the sky, the listlessness in his gaze, swollen from where Kenji had punched him, knotted Brooklynn's stomach. 

"Yeah," she murmured opening and closing her hands, testing the motion. It felt like all her strength was gone, but at least her hands still worked. "I think so. Are you-"

"Kenji? Kenji!" it was Sammy, she was screaming. Turning Brooklynn scanned the area for her in the pitch, just able to make her out on the half light rocking the unconscious boy's body, Brooklynn's blood went cold. "Oh God, he's not breathing! Guys Kenji's not breathing!" Sammy wailed looking up in terror, a steady stream of blood flowing from her reopened head wound.

Brooklynn was on her feet in a second, heartbeat rapid, head light. Racing over to kneel down by the oldest camper she swept a numb hand over Kenji's face.

"Kenji?" she asked, fear and panic rising within. He didn't respond. The hairs raising on the back of her neck Brooklynn felt like spiders were crawling all over her as she failed to make out any signs of life. No! She thought, fresh tears slipping from her eyes as she stared down at the boy. No, no, no, no! With a strangled scream Brooklynn slapped the lifeless body across the face. Pain and immediate remorse erupted within Brooklynn, causing her to double over with a whimper, head on the boy's stomach.

"Come on you asshole!" Yasmina shouted, dragging her leg as she limped over to the others. "Breathe!"

Attracted by their noise Bumpy waddled towards them from the dense foliage they had landed in calling in the loud forlorn way she had been just before they jumped. "Not now!" Yasmina grit, prying one of Kenji's eyes open, and blowing air into it hard. There was no reaction, no automated reflex to close his eye. At this revelation everything seemed to be happening all at once as hysteria began to set in.

"No!" Brooklynn wailed.

"Breathe!" Yaz commanded again, shaking Kenji roughly. "Breathe!"

"Does anyone know CPR?" Sammy shrieked, hands flapping infront of her face as she tried fanning herself in panic for more air. She's going to faint, Brooklynn thought glancing up briefly at the hyperventilating girl. 

Hush in the wake of so desperate and so simple a question gave her, her answer, yet still one by one he kids all responded with a solemn. "No."

"How hard can it be?" Yasmina sneered after a minute. Pushing the others aside and ignoring her pain the athlete tried to position herself over Kenji, her face hard set with a fortitude all her own, hands finding his sternum.

"I bet Ben knew CPR..." Darius murmured distantly, lingering at the edge of their group after walking to where they sat.

With a shudder Kenji took a breath, followed by another, let out a hoarse cough, and his respiration fell into a shallow, but noticable rhythm. Sammy crumpled to the soil overcome with the same relief that everyone else felt. Brooklynn smiled at her, cautiously taking her trembling hand. Everyone slumped in the dirt, enjoying this reprieve from death while they could, relishing the labored sounds of Kenji's breathing. It was hard, and sounded painful, but at least he was still with them.

"He's ok," Sammy whispered. "He's going to be ok."

"For now." Darius uttered, his voice nearly drowned out by the baying of the baby ankylosaurus who stormed about tail thrashing angrily.

Brooklynn turned to him with a blend of anger and worry, the former slowly giving way to the latter. She pressed her lips together, but couldn't think of anything to say. It wasn't his fault, none of this was his fault, but the girl knew far too well that telling him that wouldn't change how he felt.

"What about Ben?" Sammy asked, again the first to break the silence. "I mean we have to at least look for him right?"

"He's dead Sammy." Yaz snapped, a shudder ran down her spine as she hugged herself, seemingly cold in spite of the oversized hoodie.

"We don't know that!" Sammy argued, her voice a pinched whine as she struggled to grasp at the last threads of hope she could find. "We made it didn't we?"

"We jumped at a dip in the track, on a slope." Yasmina retorted. "Ben fucking fell. Straight down. Far and hard."

"But we're alright so that means-"

"The pterosaurs." Darius mumbled, still standing apart from the rest.

"But," Sammy tried again reluctant to face the reality of their situation head on. Looking at her Brooklynn felt her eyes beginning to well again. "But he could be..."

In the space that followed the only sound that could be heard was Bumpy's aggravated grumbling as she paced about the little clearing, her tail battling ferns, and saplings in her anger. She circled, called out, Brooklynn assumed for Ben, and circled and called again before making her rounds to nudge and rub against each of the campers with a whimper. When no one got up she repeated the process.

"He's gone Bumpy." Brooklynn said gently, cupping the animal's face in her hands when Bumpy had come to her. "Ben's gone."

"Brooklynn!" Sammy gasped at the same time Bumpy let out a bellow as though she understood and resented what the pink haired girl had said.

"It, it's does really hurt so much as..." Brooklynn trailed off following the other girls gaze down to her arms which had begun to collect fluid. She found herself vaguely unable to find the right words to explain what exactly it did feel like, if not painful and smiled awkwardly. "I'm sure it will though when the adrenaline wears off..."

"Are they broken?" the cowgirl asked, wiping the blood from her brow with the back of her hand before inching towards Brooklynn and palpitating her wrists.

"I don't think so-" Brooklynn's body gave a jump, brightly colored orbs floating through her vision, a shooting pain electrified both arms. Sammy apologized.

"Will someone shut her up?" Yasmina asked after a minute, tossing a pebble in Bumpy's direction. "She's going to get us all killed!"

Brooklynn looked at the little animal who didn't seem content with idling around much longer and began ambling away into the underbrush. Darius scrambled to stop her. "Shh Bumpy it's ok, we've got you." he said smiling to her, she pressed forward, trying to break free of his tenuous grip. "No, stay with us!" Darius argued digging in with his feet.

"Come on Bumpster," Sammy crooned trying to ply the dinosaur with tasty tidbits from a nearby tree. "We gotta stick together girl."

Bumpy honked loudly, turning to face them as she backed away, letting out little chuffs, turning up dirt underfoot as she did.

"No, no, no!" Darius hissed, clamouring to find a way to pin the animal down which only incited her rage even more. "Please!" he begged starting to cry, cheek pressed against her well armored back. "Please we can't lose you too, please! Please!"

Without much thought they all grabbed onto Bumpy in an attempt to get her to stay. Bellowing and trashing around the ankylosaur had a fit, tail aimed at shins she heaved and fought with everything in her to get away, fear coming to her calls as well was anger and loss.

"Ow!" Yasmina cried out pulling away to inspect her hand where deep red impressions had been left by Bumpy's flat square teeth. "Just let her go!"

"No!" Darius cried, but already the battle was lost, the dinosaur gave one final lurch forward and broke free racing away into the night calling loudly for her fallen parent.

Darius started gasping for air, his good hand pressed tight against his chest, his eyes glistened with sorrow in the moonlight. "Darius?" Brooklynn asked standing to try and offer him some sort of comfort. She'd seen breakdowns before, in the hospital, and as he stood watching in bitter sadness one second, jumping up and down, a pent scream coming from between his teeth, good hand pulling at his hair the next, he seemed to be on the verge of one.

"She's alright this jungle is her home!" Sammy said with a forced smile, trying to be of cheer when all Brooklynn could think to do was hug the boy around the waist, mindful of his shoulder.

"Hey!" Yaz called to them swallowing past a lump of emotion caught in her throat, though it could still heard in her voice. She had retreated to their fallen leader, and had his shirt up as though she was trying to remember what the bruising had looked like earlier, as if that would help diagnose the problem. "The only thing we should be worrying about is getting to that boat!"

The boat.

Brooklynn's stomach did a summersault. How could she have forgotten about the boat? Her head turning from side to side that persistent feeling of impending doom, and sense of urgency flooded throughout the influencer's body. Arryhthmia stole its way into the girl's chest.

"We have to go!" Brooklynn said in pressing tone.

"What about Ben?" Sammy pleaded.

"We can't go back for Ben!" Brooklynn snapped. "Ben's gone."

"Yeah, and what about Kenji?" Yaz added in a fierce tone. "Get your head out of the fucking clouds."

"And Bumpy..." Darius wheezed between tears.

"You're all insane!" Yasmina shouted. "Ben's gone, Bumpy's an animal, Kenji is right here, and he's hurt we need to do something about that first. We need to get to the boat!"

"Yaz is right." Brooklynn said forlorn. "We have to keep moving."

Encircled by her arms Brooklynn felt Darius trembling, but he shook himself soundly out of it. She looked and saw his brows were pulled together, his tears had stopped, and his jaw was set rigidly. "We're not going to make it if we keep going like this." he announced, the grim maturity in his tone seemed to have aged him by a decade at least.

"Yasmina, are you still good to walk?" he asked pulling away from Brooklynn.

"I'd say I'm highly motivated, yes." the girl agreed as she stood.

"Sammy, you can fix my shoulder again?"

"I can try." the cowgirl winced. "If you keep banging it up though-"

"Just fix it. We have to go."

Hanging back Brooklynn, who was aware of a sharp stinging sensation in her stomach wrapped her arms around herself loosely. She watched as Darius pushed everything away, burying it all deep, deep down inside. This wasn't good the girl thought to herself as she watched Sammy prepping to realign his dislocated joint, but there wasn't much she could do to help. So she chose to watch, and wait, and be there for him when she could. Because it was coming, rolling in like a thunderstorm, she could tell.

Just as with the last time, there was a loud, wet pop, a cry, and Darius sank to the ground with the anguish of it. He came to quickly enough, tested his arm, and after a few steadying breaths stood resolute.

"There's no way we're going to make it stumbling through the jungle in the middle of the night." he declared, deflating the others a bit. "But when we went to see Toro Kenji led us through these tunnels under the park. Flat, even terrain and it's got to have a direct route to the docks."

"That's a great idea!" Sammy nodded.

"Yaz," Darius said looking her up and down, Brooklynn couldn't help but follow suit. The girl's entire leg had ballooned, and was turning a sickening shade of purplish grey, how she was even standing was beyond Brooklynn, highly motivated indeed. "You can lean on my right side that should help, right?"

"Should." she grit hobbling towards him, and looping her arm around his neck.

"Sammy, Brooklynn-"

"We got 'im." Sammy assured heaving Kenji up with a considerable amount of strength that reminded Brooklynn that 'cowgirl' wasn't just a nickname. The pink haired girl fished Ben's torn fanny pack from the ground and stuffed it into the side pocket of Kenji's cargo shorts, before hurrying to steady him on the other side.

The shabby group set off at a shuffle, only the promise of salvation keeping them going.

Kenji was heavy, Brooklynn thought after a while, his head flopping around limply on his neck in a way that frightened her. What if there was something really, really wrong? She fretted as Sammy gave a massive heave to pull the boy's dangling feet over an upturned tree root. What if even after all of this and they got off the island he didn't get better? What if he was in a coma? What if he was going to die?

"Everything's going to be alright." Darius called confidently to the group from where he and Yasmina lead the way. Brooklynn stared at his back for a long moment, it was like he'd read her mind, but he hadn't even turned around. Maybe he was just talking to himself, she thought, voicing it aloud so that it would help everyone. Still, his gentle reassurance helped ease her feverishly anxious mind, as she labored under the dead weight of Kenji Kon.

After a few minutes Darius seemed to find what he was looking for, a boulder with the Jurassic World logo emblazoned upon it. "This is it." he announced, lifting the stone effortlessly to reveal a maintenance hatch, red light spilled up from the ground casting an ominous glow over the campers faces. Darius who appeared caught of guard for a moment climbed in readily, followed soon after by Yaz.

"So," Brooklynn asked in nervous concern. "How are we doing this?"

The Texan chewed on her lower lip in contemplation for a few minutes before she eased Kenji to the leaf litter. "I'll go down first," she announced mounting the ladder. "You just have to roll him towards me, and I'll catch."

"Are you sure?" Brooklynn asked tentatively, she couldn't quite tell how far down the tunnel was, and if Sammy dropped him- Brooklynn didn't even want to think about what could go wrong.

"Positive." Sammy nodded slowly disappearing below ground. "Just send him down feet first." Left alone Brooklynn felt the fear of her isolation, and couldn't help but glance about in trepidation at the swallowing darkness all around. 

Nervously she touched the source of pain in her stomach, the moisture clinging to her shirt around the port burned. It hadn't just been her wrists that had been affected by the leap of faith. She wanted to take a minute, to lift her shirt and get a really good look at the damage, wincing as acid and enzymes beaded to the surface of her skin, but a minute was something they didn't have. Stooping down the girl maneuvered Kenji towards the manhole, pushing him in feet first as she'd been instructed. That was when the teen realized that they'd lost one of his shoes, she turned back stupidly, as though expected to find it, but saw nothing in the dark.

Her breath stealing away in a gasp as Kenji's body slid unexpectedly into the hole after she had gotten his legs in Brooklynn rushed to peer down after him. Sammy gave a tentative smile and a thumbs up, having just caught him by the armpits. "Got him!"

Relieved Brooklynn was the last one to file down the ladder, descending into a room luminous with monochromatically red warning lights. The tunnels seemed to stretch forever in either direction from where the campers stood.

"Which way?" Brooklynn asked.

"Well," Darius sighed. "The docks are to the South, so, let's head south and see what happens." he smiled then, but it wasn't the warm energetic expression Brooklynn was familar with, it was worn, it was tired, it was pained.

Gravely the kids trekked forward in silence, the lighting, and persistent echo of their own footsteps adding an invasive sense of eerie malease to the atmosphere. After a few minutes Kenji groaned startling everyone, then he moved, trying to pull his head up. Stopping the girls sat him on the ground, his back propped against the cool metal and concrete of the man-made tunnel. After a moment or two he lifted his head, and looked around himself with confused disorientation.

"Where are we?" he asked, his voice a thick croak.

"We're in the tunnels, trying to get to the docks." Brooklynn explained crouching beside him. "How do you feel?"

Kenji blinked with a dull understanding of what she had just said. "Like shit."

They watched as the boy pat himself down, cautious of his chest as he took stock of his injuries. That was when he found the pack, holding it in his hand Kenji looked at it for a time, his expression betraying none of his thoughts, before returning it to where he'd found it. "Where's Bumpy?" he asked them.

"She ra-" Yasmina started in, but Brooklynn, trying to help divert what she was sure would be more blame from falling onto Darius who already had too much to deal with cut her off.

"We don't know, she wasn't there when we were getting up." she said eyes darting to each of the others praying they'd back her up. "It's like she was there one minute, gone the next."

Darius seemed ready to contradict her when Sammy doubled down on the lie. "Yeah, she just wasn't there. She must have gotten scared and run off or something."

"I dropped her too then." Kenji muttered, and Brooklynn regretted her deception instantly.

"You didn't drop Ben." Darius said.

"Don't!" Kenji shouted before the act sent him into a coughing fit, one that caused him to tense up in agony. "You don't get to say his name!"

Everyone stood in fresh mourning before Yasmina shuffled her weight about, still leaning heavily on Darius, and spoke in a strained voice. "We have to keep moving. I know, I'm a bitch, but we can't keep stopping every five seconds. Please!" she begged. "I really don't want to die here."

"I think I might know where we are." Kenji murmured after a second of observation, accepting the other girls help up.

With Kenji doing his best to direct them the group seemed to be making some headway. They even procured an electric prod from one of the lockers for Yasmina to use as a walking stick, and an old tee-shirt that was quickly shredded and made into bandages for Sammy's head, and a better sling for Darius' shoulder. 

Then they were met with metal bars.

They tried weaving through side tunnels, backtracking, and circling around feeling like rats trapped in a maze as every avenue that they walked past was an avenue replaced by locked gates.

"Where do we go now?" Darius asked after a while, letting Yasmina slump against a wall. She sagged immediately to the floor holding onto her leg.

"I don't know Darius, coming down here was your idea! Just back the fuck off!" Kenji bit out, his voice ringing in Brooklynn's ear as she helped lower him beside the athlete.

It looked like a fight was about to break out when Sammy swept some hair over her ear, glancing behind herself with unease. "Um Kenji, Darius, the way that we came in from, where does that tunnel end?"

"I don't know, it opens up somewhere into the park, why?" Kenji snapped.

That was when they heard a hiss, separate and distinct from the rattle and whistle of the pipes that surrounded them. The children turned to see a toothy shadow cast against the wall in the flickering red light. Brooklynn's heart started racing instantly, Kenji and Yasmina scooted along the floor pressing themselves tighter against the bend in the wall hoping to conceal themselves, Sammy snatched up the cattle prod letting it flicker and crackle to life. Head light with fear Brooklynn couldn't resist peaking as everyone hid.

Then darting from the other end of the passage a little green compsognathus breathing hard ran around the corner, beside her Darius heaved a sigh of relief. "It's just a comp-"

His words were cut short when a larger therapod took the bend after the little animal, it's well armed feet skidding it was accompanied by a hunting companion. Brooklynn closed her eyes when the first of the two larger dinosaurs snatched the compy up in it's jaws. There was a terrible screaming, the crush of bone, and then only pleased snorting and grunting from the victorious predators. Opening her eyes Brooklynn found herself staring Darius in the face, their shared terror when confronted with mortality once again a hollow comfort, just as it had been in the gyrosphere.

"Velociraptors." Darius whispered, giving a name to the death that stalked towards them with long claws that rapped irritably on the floor.

"What do we do?" Sammy whispered, clutching her weapon as the sound of the dinosaurs grew nearer.

No one wanted to say it, but Brooklynn found herself staring at the incapacitated members of their party where they sat winded and hurting, vulnerable, and unable to help themselves. Yaz and Kenji were sitting ducks. They seemed to sense this as their hands found each other in a gruesome form of solidarity, they were mentally preparing to die. Brooklynn, a fire in her chest couldn't accept their unspoken answer, couldn't accept that they were going to give up so easily, especially not when they were so damned close and started looking for something, anything with which to distract or hurt the velociraptors before their impending arrival.

Her gaze trailing the pipes Brooklynn found several valves, and handles imbedded in the wall. Frantically she began turning them at random, ignoring the mounting pressure and discomfort in her forearms as she twisted her wrists in ways they protested angrily against. Water and steam could be heard rushing at different speeds here, a particular pipe began trembling as though it might burst there, and yet the insulation held. Teeth grit together she kept trying. Come on! She thought pleading silently with the fates. Do something, something had to happen! Why wasn't anything happening?

That was when Darius stepped forward, "It's alright," he smiled sadly a hand on her shoulder. "I've got this." Whatever 'this' was Brooklynn knew innately that it wasn't good, and that she couldn't let him do it alone.

It was when she turned to ask him what exactly he had in mind that she saw it, the morose, rueful light in his gaze. Then it clicked with her, then she realized. 

The guilt. 

The intense overwhelming guilt he'd been carrying with him this entire time.

Darius had been throwing himself head first at every danger they came across, putting his life at risk for theirs with each and every opportunity that arose. He didn't give it a single thought, not once did he seem to hesitate or second guess his decisions. This entire time Brooklynn had taken it for bravery and courage, while she had heard Yasmina and Kenji call it recklessness. But now the truth had been laid bare and she saw his actions for what they were. He was punishing himself for Jayson, had been from the onset, and now for Ben too. Brooklynn with a stabbing pain in her heart wondered if a part of him was hoping to be killed to make amends, and if he was even fully aware of why he was doing what he was doing.

"No," she argued, turning to look at the passage he was eyeing, mentally calculating as she was sure he was as well how long it would take them to reach it. "We've got this."

"Brooklynn, no," Darius said. "I have to do this. I-"

"Just try and stop me." Brooklynn smirked giving the boy a tap on the nose with a puffy index finger. Before he could utter another word she had turned and started running. "Hey over here, catch me!" she shouted to the animals who's heads snapped at attention with eager surprise.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Darius asked catching up to her the shrieks and calls of the raptors echoing behind them.

"Always." Brooklynn smiled reaching out and taking his hand in her own.

Legs churning the two ran with everything they had in them the sounds of their pursuers jockeying for position behind them lending speed to their strides. Then without warning they took a wrong turn and found themselves running straight at a set of iron bars. There was a hall to either side, and with no way of knowing where, if anywhere each route would take them Darius gave Brooklynn's swollen fingers a squeeze and they darted Brooklynn to the right, Darius to the left, dividing their hunters affectively.

Alone Brooklynn found the sound of her own fears overwhelming as she pelted blindly through alternating darkness and dimmed bloody lighting. The velociraptor screeched when she took a tight turn. Unable to gain traction on the slick floor with its talons the beast slid into a nearby wall with a bellow. 

Dashing down a short hall Brooklynn stopped pressing herself tight into a corner hands clamped over her mouth and nose in an attempt to stifle her own rampant and frightened breathing. She heard the raptor's claws tapping as it ran past, the animal snorting as it raced onwards in pursuit of its illusive prey. Shuddering Brooklynn wiped the tears and snot from her face as she cried as silently as humanly possible. Then, when she was sure it had gone the girl crept out of hiding and doubled back the way she had come.

Tiptoeing down the corridor, to Brooklynn's all encompassing dread she realized that she had no idea where she was. Everything looked the same, there were lights, and pipes, spigots, and dead ends everywhere. Sure the walls had giant numbers painted across them, but it wasn't like she had time to read them, or make a mental map of the labyrinthian tunnels while she was in the midst of running for her life. She couldn't find her way back, she realized turning this way and that, her ears keen for the sound of anyone or anything approaching. Cupping her tender button as hopelessness set in Brooklynn found herself wandering.

Please, her thoughts were bittersweet, please even if I don't make it out of here let it have worked, let everyone be alright!

Trying to turn down a narrow shaft the girl focused solely on trailing the piping above her, reasoning that, hopefully they'd lead her back to her set of valves she had left the others by. Something touched her back. With a gasp body going rigid Brooklynn turned to see Darius in the darkness, a finger pressed urgently to his lips indicating for her to be quiet. Brooklynn hugged the boy quaking all over with a cocktail of fear and relief swimming in her head.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" she whispered.

"Me too- you- I'm-" the boy fumbled hugging her back, he was still panting dismally for breath.

Brooklynn laughed and shook her head. "It's alright."

They stood in each other's arms for several minutes before the girl dared to ask, "Do you know where we are?"

"No." Darius admitted.

Separating from the embrace they looked each other over, finding the other shaken but sound. Together, after a few moments they ventured back into the winding walkways and corridors, desperately lost. Creeping in at the edges of their minds like fleeting shadows a sense of defeat settled over them. Without much fanfare, or even acknowledging that they had all but given up the pair sat weary from a day of running, their backs against the cold concrete, unable to continue.

"You keep touching your stomach are you alright?" Darius asked after noticing the way Brooklynn kept cupping the left side of her belly.

"Fine." she snapped, blinking back the burning discomfort. After sitting in the quiet for several minutes the irritating sting had begun to grow unbearable. With a frustrated grunt of embarassment Brooklynn scooted away lifting her jacket and shirt finally looking at the white port in her stomach.

"It's called a MIC-KEY button," she half shouted shamefully fending off any questions before they could be posed. "It's gross and weird I know-"

"My dad had one." Darius observed, staring at the tube. "Near the end... Are you alright?"

Brooklynn felt a pang for assuming the worst from him without giving him a chance, and even worse for reminding him of his dad's failed battle. Quietly assessing the damage Brooklynn saw that her skin was already turning an angry pink, and turning soft, the smell acrid and nauseating.

"You've gotta keep it dry or you'll get ulcers from the acid." Darius put in helpfully.

"Yeah, I know." Brooklynn snapped. "I'm the one who's gotta live with it."

"Sorry."

"No..." Brooklynn winced, dabbing at the stomach fluid with a dry portion of her shirt. What was her problem? She wondered, he was just trying to help and she bit his freaking head off for it! "It's, it's not you, really." the girl mumbled.

"I get it," Darius shrugged. "It's been a stressful day."

Caught off guard by the blunt matter of fact way Darius had understated everything in one sentence Brooklynn burst out laughing, Darius joining her, the infectious joy mingling with their exhaustion and washing away some of their dread.

"Do you know why I do the whole YouTube thing?" Brooklynn asked after a while, she wasn't sure where she was going with this, but it felt like something she needed to share, and a good segway into talking about his feelings without going straight for the throat.

"No." he shook his head.

The girl let out a sigh, lowered her shirt, and leaned back. "It actually started when my therapist suggested I journal my experience with this." she pointed to her button before motioning to herself as a whole and then tapping herself on the head. "You know, all of this. Well I wasn't much for writing stuff down, it didn't stick, it wasn't something I could or would keep up with. So she suggested video blogging, and that, that was something I could get behind."

There was a pause where Brooklynn was trying to decide what to say next.

"It helped, and then it didn't, it just made things worse." she shrugged. "And then it helped again in a different way when I went from documenting my 'journey,' to documenting my travels."

"I'm glad." he smiled.

Brooklynn returned the expression with a bitter smile of her own. "Don't be, because it's not really helping me, not anymore. It's back to hurting me again... I'm sick Darius, and I know I'm sick but I can't seem to help myself out of it. If it's not, if it's not one thing it's another." she sobbed feeling herself starting to crumble.

"Their approval just- I don't even really know Darius, it just gives me something I think I need..." Brooklynn was trying to keep the tears at bay, she wasn't supposed to be blubbering like a damn baby, she was supposed to be helping him realize it was ok if he let go, not her.

Somehow, even knowing this, she couldn't keep the words from spilling out. "I don't like myself very much Darius... At all even... But when I'm streaming or making videos and they start commenting I can see someone worth while. I feel valued, heard, I feel real! But that bubbly smiling girl on the computer screen. She's not me, and she's not real. I'm nothing!"

"That's not true." he murmured pulling her into his chest. "Shh, that's not true. You are one of the bravest, smartest, funniest people I have ever met." the boy went on trying to soothe her hurt. "And if someone can't see that, then they're a God damn moron! And that includes you too, ya idiot."

Brooklynn found herself laughing as she dabbed at her face with her jacket sleeve. "I'm sorry, that got real heavy real fast and went way into left field."

"Baseball fan?" Darius asked.

"Little bit."

"What's your favorite team?" Darius asked, some of his old self pulling through.

"Yankees." Brooklynn said wrinkling her nose.

"Oh, I'm an Oakland A's fan, gotta go home team." Darius larked.

"Ouch."

"Tell me about it." the boy rolled his eyes.

"If we're going home teams though it'd better be the Red Sox." Brooklynn mused, listening to the beat of his wounded heart from where her head still rest against his chest.

"I can get behind that." he nodded.

"Darius, you don't have to blame yourself," Brooklynn chimed against her better judgement. "Or punish yourself for everything that's happened. It wasn't your fault. None of this is your fault."

Darius let out a sigh, turning away from her suddenly cold.

They sat quietly for several long minutes until the weight of the realization that they weren't going to be able to find their way back threatened to crush Brooklynn entirely. Trying hard not to the girl found herself crying, surprised that she had any tears left to give after everything they had been through.

"It's going to be alright." Darius said trying to comfort her. "Everything's going to be alright."

"You know you're allowed to be scared too!" Brooklynn whimpered. "You don't have to be so strong all the time"

"I know." Darius agreed, his voice thin. "And I'm not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So very sorry for the long wait, I knew this week was going to be crazy but life threw me some unexpected curve balls... Get it? See what I did there? Ha! I'm so funny! XD
> 
> Brooklynn's arms are not broken, they're "buckled" or bent. It's a common type of injury in very young children whose bones aren't rigidly developed yet and in older folks with osteoporosis. However, given Brooklynn's anorexia, and resulting poor nutrition she has lost a lot of bone density which has allowed for this type of injury. She is right, it is gonna hurt once all the adrenaline wears off and it's gonna suck, but they are not broken.
> 
> As I said before in Darius' first chapter in my AU there are more velociraptors in the park than in just Owen's raptor pack. I envision these guys like the classic raptors from the first film, but each to their own! :)
> 
> Also learn CPR people! It's a valuable life skill and you never know when having even just the basics down can help save someone's life!
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and being patient with me! I hope you liked it! <3


	20. The Day of Reckoning: Part Six

Huddled together, the sinister red glow of the emergency lights spilling across their faces Darius absent mindedly smoothed his hand through Brooklynn's soft pink hair with an eased rhythm. The girl's head rest in his lap, she had cried herself out a few minutes ago, inflamed hands pressed tight against her mouth as she tried to muffle the sound. Staring vacantly at the bleak gray wall across from him, there were many voices screaming in Darius' head; fear, self-doubt, and damnation all vying greedily for his soul. He tried his best to give them no ear with which to listen. Instead the boy found himself humming a light tune, foot tapping to the beat of a song he willed to fill his mind and drown out all of his anxieties and pain.

What he wouldn't give for his iPod right now, he thought, desperately wanting some way to sever his mind from the grim reality in which he found himself.

He couldn't do this anymore. It was too hard, he'd done too many things wrong, and people had died because of him.

Glancing down at the sleeping girl and a shudder ran through Darius. It was just the cold, he lied to himself. A chill had seeped and into his bones from the dark and damp of the tunnels, pipes dripping here and there. That must have been it. Or perhaps it was the fear? The raptors, smaller, sleeker than the ones he'd encountered with Kenji were still running free and could return at any moment to catch them unawares. 

He was just cold and scared, that's all.

No, he grudgingly reasoned when the sensation wracked his body once more, it wasn't the cold, and it wasn't the fear. Someone was walking over his grave. What he was feeling was the undeniable truth that they were never getting off this island, even after everything they'd been through, everything they'd done, everything he'd done. 

Death walked with them, hand in hand, and they were all going to die here.

Because of him.

All he could hope now was that Sammy, Yaz, and Kenji would be able to make it out, that the only other person he had doomed was Brooklynn. Stupid, vainglorious Brooklynn. Why she had decided to run around like an idiot was infuriatingly beyond Darius' scope of understanding. She didn't have to do it, but she did it anyways. It was his job to make sure everyone was alright, it was his job to make sure that they all knew what they were up against, it was his job to make the sacrifice if it came down to it. So then why did she seem to think this was some sort of game, that she could just do whatever she wanted consequences be damned?

Anger swelling in his chest Darius' fingers curled and tangled through the girl's hair, pulling strands from it's loose bun. Glaring down at the pink tresses held tight in his fist he wanted to pull her hair, to shake her, yell at her, let her know how stupid and selfish she was being. Rage obscuring his vision with bitter tears he didn't want the stain of Brooklynn's blood on his hands too, but now because of her, the boy knew that he would... inevitability... and he hated her for it.

Letting out a shaky breath, as a few tears slipped free Darius let go moments later. Uneasily he resumed running his hand over the girl's locks, retidying the mess he'd made as best he could. She was exhausted, he noticed when none of his fidgeting had roused her. So was he, he admitted, head lulling back, eyelids drooping heavily. He couldn't sleep, it wasn't safe to, he knew that, and yet, his blinks became longer, and he felt himself separating only to return to himself with a start.

He couldn't fall asleep! He thought, opening his eyes painfully wide. He couldn't... but...

There was a rattle in the piping overhead. It was just loud enough to catch his attention, though not enough to force the sleep from Darius' mind, his head hanging low, chin resting against his chest.

Then he heard it again, and he fought to open his eyes. It seemed louder this time, and rhythmic unlike the periodic rattle and pop of the other pipes. Then he realized that the sound repeated in periodic intervals.

clang-clang-clang-clang-clang

Forcing himself to sit a little higher from where he slumped Darius glanced about his mind a lethargic hazed muddle. There was a pause and the noises of the tunnel returned to their natural ambient static. Maybe he was hearing things? he thought, or had already started dreaming? Darius waited for what felt like an eternity, but the sound didn't return. He was going crazy, the boy conceded with himself, before the call to slumber took up arms and he felt himself beginning to drift once more.

clang-clang-clang-clang-clang

The boy jolted upright. No, he'd heard it that time, he'd definitely heard it! Darius strained with baited breath and pensive nerves to listen. Then it happened on a different pipe along the opposite wall.

clang-clang-clang-clang-clang

"Huh, shave and a hair cut..." he muttered to himself absentmindedly, a little smirk curling the corner of his mouth. Then it clicked.

Darius leaped to his feet spilling Brooklynn, who gave a frightened yelp, to the floor. Rapping his knuckles twice against the pipes as hard as he could it was all Darius could do to keep from shouting, "Two bits!" which came out in a desperate sob. Seconds later the pipe in question shook and rattled frantically. It was them, he realized, it was the others, they had found a way to communicate!

Darius crumpled to his knees overwhelmed with joy, deliverance was at hand, and maybe, just maybe they didn't have to die here.

"Darius?" Brooklynn, crouched low to the floor whispered apprehensively behind him.

Turning towards her the boy couldn't help but smile even as the tears flowed steadily. "It's ok," he promised. "We're going to be alright, the others- I don't know how they, but- I know how to find them! We're getting out of here!"

The shadow of fear and doubt broke over the girl's face, her natural radiance shining through like sunlight conquering stormclouds, the same tears of relief washing over her. Gingerly the teens helped pull one another to their feet, supporting themselves wearily, Darius waited and listened his ears keen. The tapping came again, he turned from left to right, trying to discern a point of origin, but the echos that reverberated along the thick, empty concrete walls made the task difficult.

"What do you think?" he asked after a minute. "Is it louder coming from that direction or... That one?"

Brooklynn bit her lip as she strained to hear. Finally, eyes closed she let out a sigh. Darius knew the feeling, it was a fifty-fifty chance and it was still the biggest gamble of their lives. "That one." she said after a few minutes gesturing with a nod down a straight and narrow corridor.

"Let's hope so." Darius said a nervous laugh escaping him, fear and optimism a nauseating cocktail in the pit of his stomach.

Picking their way through the tunnels, Darius and Brooklynn checked superstitiously around every curve, bend, and intersection for signs of the velociraptors. It made for slow going, but so too did the knocking and waiting for a response. Blessedly, however as they trailed their copper line of salvation they could tell they were getting closer, and closer until the distinct clatter of metal on metal rang through their ears like the victorious bells of a cathedral on New Years day.

Turning a corner the pair stopped abruptly. They had found them! Sammy stood radiating power and determination as she tearfully and methodically struck the end of the electric prod against metal poles. Yasmina and Kenji lay behind her exactly where they had left them, sagging low to the ground, pale, fighting against themselves as they each began nodding off. The cowgirl, who caught their movement out of her peripheral vision gave a start before allowing her tool to drop noisily to the ground as she rushed to embrace them.

Darius winced, and struggled to keep his footing as the girl threw herself across their shoulders, pulling them in tight. "I was so, so scared!" she whispered.

"It's alright Sammy," Darius smiled. "We were too."

At this the Texan couldn't help but laugh, her nature winning out against circumstance. "I bet you were you crazy son-of-a-gun!" she larked, before turning to Brooklynn more sternly. "And you, I expected better from you! Don't ever do anything like that again, or I'll turn y'all over my knee, I'll do it too!" she motioned threateningly between the two of them with her index finger. 

The three friends shared a laugh, and for the briefest of moments it felt as though everything was alright. Sammy pressed an affectionate kiss into each of their cheeks, and gave them a final, trembling hug before leading them back to the others.

"See I told you it wasn't a stupid idea." Kenji murmured with a breathy smile, nudging Yaz with his elbow trying to get her to admit that she had been wrong. "Fraggle Rock for the win..."

"You're an idiot." the girl said through her gritted teeth, hands gripping her upper thigh where the tight spandex of her running shorts had begun to cut into her still expanding leg.

"It worked didn't it?" Kenji asked, staring down at her swollen and discolored limb with worry.

"That was genius!" Darius enthused as he came up to them, holding his right hand out to give Kenji a high-five. With a little grunt of discomfort Kenji ignored him, turning decidedly away, or at least, as much as he could. 

"Glad you didn't get eaten Super-Star." he muttered, looking past Darius to Brooklynn.

"Me too." the pink haired girl smiled awkwardly.

Darius was hurt and left shaken, by Kenji's indifference. The air catching in his chest the boy was reminded of how he had failed, not once, but twice, and now Ben, and Jayson were dead because of him. Looking down at his hand Darius made a fist, it felt strong enough, but somehow he hadn't been. He was weak, a coward, and a murderer. Blinking back his emotions Darius swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, and took stock of their surroundings.

"So," he said, forcing a smile. "We know there's not much back that way, except maybe some toothy 'friends,' so what do you say we try heading this way?" he asked motioning further down the tunnel.

"I think that's a good idea!" Sammy hastily agreed, bending down to help Yasmina to her feet. The athlete cast a withering stare at the cowgirl that stopped her in her tracks.

"I've got this." Yaz grit, trying to stand. "And I especially don't need help from you." she added in low mutter.

Darius who could tell that in spite of her pride Yasmina wasn't going to be able to do it on her own, moved quickly, and caught her under the arm with his good hand. The pull and strain on the connective muscles across his back and chest protested with a fiery ache, bright orbs flickering to life at the edge of his vision. "Let me." he muttered helping the girl up. He and Sammy exchanged saddened looks as they shuffled about in the close quarters so that she could aid Kenji, who remained motionless and made no effort to help himself.

Once everyone had found their footing the group resumed their slow shuffle forward into the unknown, only, this time they were sure to be more cautious and aware of their surroundings. 

Hairs standing up on the back of his neck and arms Darius found himself lost within as they walked, seeing the world from the back seat as he anxiously poured over everything that had happened over the course of the past twenty-four hours, mulling obsessively over the observation tower, and monorail, replaying it again, and again in the theater of his mind, reenacting the events in painful, damning detail, piecing together hypotheticals if only he had done something different, done something right. Silently the boy cursed himself for his failures.

"You alright?" Yasmina asked in a low whisper, looking down at him with worry.

"Yeah, you?" Darius asked, it was an automatic response, he was still rifling and filing through the scenarios in which he might have been able to save a life.

"I'm-" Yaz rolled her eyes and let out a snort of irritation. "It's not about me, I'm fine." she spit out, turning to glance down an adjacent hallway. "I was asking about you, Darius."

"I'm ok."

"You're shaking." Yasmina pointed out bluntly, she'd stopped walking her honey colored eyes staring down hard into his deep cocoa gaze. She didn't seem prepared to take 'yes' for an answer, but couldn't help putting much of her weight on him as she waited for a better response.

"I'm just-" Darius started brows pulled together as he turned towards her. "Scared."

Yaz looked at him for a long minute before she seemed to accept this, pressing her lips together tightly she nodded, "Me too." The girl rest her head against his for a minute, in a kind of hug, before they started off again. 

It hadn't been a lie, exactly, Darius said to himself, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

After trekking aimlessly for a while the weary band's pace slowed to a crawl, bickering and arguing broke out amongst the friends. The tension came to a head when they found themselves met with yet another barred passage.

"Come on!" Kenji groaned.

"Oh look another dead end!" Brooklynn scoffed. "Good job!"

Trying to stave off any fights before they could start Darius turned to suggest doubling back, and trying the winding route they had passed not long ago. That was when they heard it, the roar that bounced off the floor and ceiling as it raced towards them, clashing deafeningly against their eardrums and filling the children's hearts with alarm. The ruddy, short snouted maw of the carnotaurus Toro jutted around a corner at the end of the corridor they had been trailing. The campers seized up, breath baited, grips tightening on one another with fearful holds that would later bruise. Surveying her surroundings Toro spotted the teenagers, lip curling over sharp conical teeth in a snarl. 

"We have to run!" Brooklynn shouted.

"I can't." Yasmina stated in a hollow whisper.

Watching helplessly with the others as Toro bore down on them Darius looked desperately for a way out, that was when he noticed the vent. Running to it he began prying at the metal grating as Sammy seemed to have the same idea yanked at the other end. The cover was tossed aside with a clang. Brooklynn was at the ready shoving the doubled over VIP towards them they stuffed Kenji into the open space, followed by Yaz. The other three piled in at the last moment choking on the thick dusty air of the duct, their movements displacing huge plumes all around them. For only an instant had the kids fooled themselves into believing that they were safe when they were submerged entirely in darkness.

Brooklynn screamed, scrambling backwards, pressing herself hard against the others. Caught off balance Darius looped an arm about her while using the other to crawl away. Toro's massive form blocked out all light, her teeth gnashing hungrily at the children as she struggled to reach them. The sickening sweet smell of rotting flesh filled the confined space, and thick droplets of saliva splattered against Darius' face as he backed away, ears ringing, heart hammering. Met with another grate he began to kick it, the metal reverberating against the bottom of his sneakers as others joined him in the darkness. At last he struck only air as it fell away without warning.

Spilling out with the others Darius picked himself up groggily, head swimming as he struggled to catch his breath. He couldn't believe they'd made it out of there, he thought, taking stock of his battered friends who lay scattered and moaning about him. They had to get up, they had to keep going, they were almost there, he could feel it! Darius stumbled to his feet, and began pulling the others to theirs.

"Ok, ok!" Kenji wheezed, his shoulder finding support against the wall. "You're like a drill sergeant!"

"Yeah," Yasmina added. "We need a minute."

"We don't have a minute." Darius said with form determination. "We have to keep moving, we have to-"

Brooklynn nudged the boy, pointing with a teary eyed smile to a bright orange sign that marked the wall on the other side of the train tracks, they had emerged beside. Darius read, and reread with sign in startled disbelief before the words tumbled from his lips. "Exit to south ferry dock 1000ft!" 

It didn't seem real, and yet somehow it was! Everyone was elated and began rushing forward as quickly at they were able, laughing, and shouting with excitement as they staggered towards the light. This was it, they were saved!

The tunnel opened up into a large loading bay stacked high with crates, boxes, and pallets of materials and supplies, white florescent lights illuminating the storage space. As they burst through one by one the children's faces fell as the realization dawned on them that they weren't looking at a way out, at salvation, but rather another dead end, and damnation. A large gray wall stared back at them, denying their only chance of escape and survival.

"There's no way out," Brooklynn half sobbed. "They must have sealed it off after the park was finished!"

"Can't one person associated with this place make one good decision?" Yasmina bellowed, left leaning against a crate.

Rushing to the well fortified barrier as Toro's call echoed from somewhere further down the track Darius slammed his fists against the rough surface. The world wobbled beneath his feet, his stomach lurching violently, the dizzying realization that all had finally been lost sent him reeling. There was a deep pain in Darius' chest, slinking towards the floor he was lightheaded, and disoriented with a fear that threatened to incapacitate him. 

It was happening all over again, he thought, he failed, and now they were all going to be killed. The tunnels had been his idea, he'd assumed they would be safer, easier to transverse than open terrain. He had thought for sure that they would have had a straight shot to the docks, that there wouldn't be any dinosaurs down here to threaten them, but he'd been wrong. He had been the one to lead them down here, brought them quite literally to the end of the line, and now their doom stalked towards them.

Bitter tears slipped from his eyes. He should have been strong enough to hold onto Jayson, Darius thought hatefuly of himself, he should have been able to push past the pain on the monorail and been the one to climb out of the hatch, he should have held onto Ben, no matter what. Fists clenched the boy winced, cringing away from them memory of Jayson's skin dragging under his nails that haunted him, the sticky clumps and dried blood left embedded beneath them. Opening and closing his hands, he begged them to forget the sensation.

"Darius, what do we do now?" Yasmina panted, hobbling over towards the other campers.

"I don't know." Darius whispered.

"Darius?" Sammy tried, leaning towards the boy on the tracks with concern.

"I don't know!" he shouted in frustrated response, grinding his forehead into the concrete until his head felt like it was going to split.

"But," Sammy started in a whisper that made her sound like a lost little kid. "You always know."

"I don't know!" Darius screamed, his voice breaking into a hoarse warble. "I don't know what to do." Sitting with his hands over his ears Darius was trembling, his forehead bouncing off the wall from soft rhythmic blows that kept him painfully grounded, the feeling that he was about to break, about to fall, overwhelming. "I didn't know what to do about Ben or Bumpy," he sobbed. "Or Jayson or the Indominus Rex!"

Toro's roar seemed nearer this time, electrifying the boy's spine. Panicking he stood, hand running over the concrete, trying to find something, anything that he could pry away and gain his freedom. "All I did was make bad choices and get into trouble and mess things up! You never should have trusted me!" he wept clawing like a trapped animal at the wall. "I'm just a dino-nerd who played a fucking videogame! I'm no good at this!"

"But," Brooklynn started with a sad smile. "You are good at this Darius. None of us knew what to do. None of us still know what to do. Hell the people who run this place obviously didn't know what to do, but because you kept going. We kept going." 

"Brooklynn's right," Sammy agreed. "You kept us all soldiering on, in spite of what some of us have done." Darius turned towards the girls and saw a pained look on the Texan's face, one she still managed to smile past, as Yasmina limped towards them to put her two cents in.

"And you made us realize, that at least for now, we're in this together." she said. "So we are... We're a team, we're your team..."

"'Things fall apart, and that's ok, because when that happens...'" Brooklynn recited misty eyed. Those were his dad's words, she was using his dad's words, she had been listening, they all had.

Darius found his hand reaching instinctively for the familiarity and comfort of his necklace. His eyes squeezed shut in a sharp pang of sorrow when he remembered that it gone, his hand resting on his chest, his dad was gone. He stood swaying with renewed grief for a long minute, before he felt something, the rapid, dull thumping of his own heart against his palm. No, there he was, Darius thought pressing his hand deeper against his chest, his dad wasn't gone, he was there, in his heart, always.

Darius too a wavering breath, and forced all of his emotions aside. 

"'We pick up the pieces and we keep going.'" he smiled up to his friends, the knowledge that he wasn't alone, and never would be empowering. This wasn't over, not by a long shot, not while they still had spirit, they still had a fighting chance. They were going to make that ferry and get off this God forsaken island even if it was the last thing they did. 

But first, they had to take care of Toro.

Offering him a hand up Sammy pulled Darius from the tracks and onto the platform beside them. Another bellow sent a jolt through the children. She's getting closer, Darius thought gazing with a rekindled determination at the dark tunnel before them. "Let's see what's in these crates."

Working fast and hard, using crowbars and various other tools that lay scattered about the kids began searching through the supplies left stockpiled on the loading bay in a system of organization that was not immediately apparent to the children as they riffled haphazardly through the abandoned materials. Clothes, toys, trinkets, these were useless! Darius ground his teeth together after opening yet another container of gift shop merch. How were they supposed to defend themselves with dinosaur themed stationary, and phone cases? He wondered sarcastically to himself.

"Medical supplies!" Kenji scoffed after he and Yasmina had managed to wedge a crate open. They'd been working in tandem, slow but eager to be of some sort of use, and the effort of leveraging the wooden box open was plain on their faces. The two seemed defeated, Darius couldn't have that, making his way towards them he hoped to offer them encouragement, to keep their spirits up, but when he glanced down at what they had uncovered his heart gave a tiny leap.

Who the hell had thought it was a good idea to store those oxygen tanks like that? Rattling around with a bunch of coban loose at the bottom? Far from the most hygienic way to transport such things, there was also the huge risk of the bottles colliding, breaking open, of fire, and even explosions. If anything this made him doubt the competency of Jurassic World as a company most. 

He remembered his mom panicking and buying a electric oven second hand when his dad needed to start bringing oxygen home, deeming their gas range too much of a risk. That had made Darius nervous to handle the tanks, or even to vent the last bit of O2 from them before the medical supply truck would come to replace their empties. Then, a thought occured to him, and he smiled. Hefting a metal cylinder from the crate he turned the valve, testing it's pressure, allowing some of its contents to hiss out.

"We had a bunch of these around the house after my dad got sick," he explained grinning to the others as a plan began to form. "Super compressed air sensitive to pressure and heat."

"Might be able to scare Toro off." Brooklynn said hopefully as she peered into the crate as well.

"Or distract him long enough to find another exit." Darius beamed nodding at the other two. "Good find you guys." he praised still sliding the final pieces of his plan into place. 

"Sammy, Brook..." Darius started in a commanding tone, before he stopped himself gaze falling to Brooklynn's swollen hands and forearms. He hastily thought better of what he was going to say. "Sammy do you think you can help me load this crate onto the cart?" the cowgirl nodded confidently. "Kenji, Yaz twist some of the gauze and bandages together to make a fuse. We're going to need something to light it with..." his voice trailed off contemplatively.

The fierce spark and crackle of electricity caught his attention as Yaz wielded her multipurpose walking stick towards the group with a smirk. "Perfect." Darius nodded.

Everyone moved double time to try and get the trap set, Brooklynn determined to help pressed her back against the crate after it had been moved to the cart, using the strength of her legs, not her arms to help get it into position. Finally when everything seemed ready the teens ducked down amid the supplies, waiting with pent anxiety and long held breath as the large therapod lumbered into the room, her nostrils flairing as she scented about for them.

Fear overtook the teenagers as they huddled around their improvised fuse. "Light it up."

The prod crackled and flared to life, a thin blue-white bolt arching between the probs, but nothing came of the brilliant display.

"Yaz?" Brooklynn whispered disparagingly.

"I'm trying!" Yasmina snapped.

The strain of the situation made the campers edge together as she tried again and again. It was as they waited, tension mounting that Kenji squeeze closed his eyes before fishing the fanny pack out of his pocket. There was a solemn moment of silence where no one spoke before he reached in and produced a bottle of hand sanitizer.

"Here," he murmured dousing the fuze with the alcohol solution. "This stuff will burn."

Yasmina tried sparking the rod again. Nothing seemed to happen. In aggravation Kenji squeezed even more gel onto the knotted bandages, splattering the sanitizer everywhere. That was when they felt the heat. "Ow!" Sammy yelped wretching her hand back, slapping the invisible flames out on the leg of her pants. It was then that the bandages themselves caught, flames orange and angry.

"Sorry." Kenji whispered brows furrowed.

"It's ok." Sammy smiled, hand tucked under her arm, she shut her eyes tightly against the burn.

"Thanks Ben." Brooklynn added in a prayer.

Then with all their might they shoved the cart towards Toro and dove for cover. It should have worked, but then something happened that no one had anticipated; the carnotaurus let out a roar, trashing her head to the side, her sharp horns impaling the crate tossing it aside with ease. The loading bay was showered with burning debris, oxygen tanks clattering to the ground and striking the rails below.

Darius' breath caught as flames blossomed all around them, then he looked up and made eye contact with the large carnivore that glared at them scornfully. "Run!" he shouted.

Everything that happened next, happened in a frantic blur. Heart hammering in his ears Darius grabbed onto Yasmina half dragging her after him as the campers ran for their lives. There was no time to hesitate, he thought feeling the drag of her body weight, he mercilessly urged her on. 

Behind them Toro crashed through barrels and boxes to get the children, rampaging furiously amid the fire and choking plumes of smoke that coiled to the ceiling. Glancing back over his shoulder the boy saw Kenji throw himself painfully to the tracks, rolling and scrambling for his life. Yaz who had been watching too tripped, nearly bringing Darius down with her, the clatter of the prod catching Toro's attention the animal turned on her hungrily. Darius dashed a few feet away, picking up a smouldered wooden plank and hurled it at Toro, as mightily as he could.

The distraction worked, a little too well as the beast jaws snapping lunged for Darius who leapt and scampered out of reach. Finding his way to the tracks Darius found the prod discarded and thinking quickly snatched it up as Toro ran for him headlong. In terror the boy realized he was trapped and couldn't pull himself back out he was going to-

"Darius!" Kenji's horror striken face came into veiw as he stretched himself out over the edge. Jumping Darius grabbed onto him, somehow Kenji managed to keep hold, pulling Darius up with him, eyes fluttering before the anguish of his heroic act stole away his consciousness, and he sagged to the floor, a ragdoll.

Sammy and Brooklynn were there pulling Kenji back into hiding behind a large stack of freight where Yasmina huddled tearily. It all came down to this, Darius thought in a moment of clarity, this was it. Oxygen leaked out of the tanks that surrounded Toro's feet. Letting out a steadying breath Darius flicked the ignitor on the rod, wielding it like a javelin he took the sparse seconds available to him to aim and hurled it.

Diving behind the freight with the others, there was a terrible explosion. Immense pressure, sound, and lastly heat washed over the campers. Darius' ears were ringing, his insides felt as though they had been knocked sideways, he was dizzy, felt like throwing up, and for a moment couldn't form cohesive thought. Hacking, spit, snot, and tears streaming from his face as the boy found his feet Darius was staggered, blinking back against the smokey haze of the eruption, he stared hard through the mire to see if it had worked. Then the gravely ruins shifted, his heart squeezed with fright and Toro rose like a phoenix from the ashes.

No, he thought, legs threatening to give out beneath him, no!

The carnotaurus made a strange, low rumbling sound, yellow eyes raking over her adversaries. Then she fell, pulled herself back up, and with a whimper of pain began limping away. The kids began to whoop and celebrate as the dust settled, Kenji who recovering from his pain induced blackout was blearily late to the party, follow suit with optimistic confusion. Darius watched the beast's retreat with some remorse, she couldn't help what she was, he thought, but then again they couldn't exactly be blamed for fighting back either.

"Look!" Brooklynn gasped pointing to the starlit sky that had been exposed through the wall, concrete lying in rubble.

They were saved!

Giddy, heart ready to bust, laughter spilling from his lips Darius began helping everyone to their feet, prayers of gratitude flooding throughout his soul and mind. Pushing past palms and ensnaring ferns the five survivors pelted as fast at their spent legs could carry them. Bursting out through the foliage their feet struck a man-made path, one they followed hastily to the dock and to-

Nothing.

There was nothing.

The calm roll of the tide lapping at the shoreline, moonlight glittering off the crest of a wave, and stars timeless, silent observers of all that unfolded below them kept vigil, were all that met Darius' gaze. They'd missed it. The ferry had left without them. They had been left behind, forgotten, abandoned... left for dead.

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Not one thing they had done, because regardless of how hard they had tried they still wouldn't have made it.

Crushed beneath this realization Darius found himself unable to breathe as he sank gradually to the ground. Someone was speaking to him, but they were far away, he couldn't hear them, not where he was, not so burdened by the truth. Nothing they had done could have brought them safely to the docks in time, so nothing they had done to get here had any worth or merit. They could have done anything and the outcome would have been the same.

They could have done anything.

Anything.

They'd had the time.

Without warning Darius fell over the precipice he had been toeing all day, the cold, dark, unfeeling waters of grief and depression swallowing him whole he lay collapsed on the docks wailing his heart rending lament.

They'd had the time.

It was his fault.

They'd had the time.

"I'm sorry!" he screamed heedless of anything that could hear him. "Oh God I'm so sorry! Ben!" he shrieked. "Ben! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Ben! Ben, I'm so sorry! We missed it, we had time! We had time! None of this mattered we could have gone back for him! We could have gone back! Oh my God Ben! Ben, I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Darius wanted to die...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! 
> 
> I just wanted to start out by apologizing for not getting this out sooner, things got a little crazy for me. What I thought was a minor inconvenience at first turned into something huge in my personal life as it turns out close family who have said that they're supportive of me and who I am have been secretly harboring transphobia and resentment towards me for a while. They finally let it all out. 
> 
> I ended up staying with other family for a bit but it's been a really rough one y'all. I got really depressed, tried putting on a good face and pressing on but nothing has made me happy, and nothing held my interest, not even writing. So I gave myself time away.
> 
> I'm doing better now though and have finally completed the next chapter. I hope it lives up to the others, I feel like it's lacking in something, but I can't pinpoint what. If you figure out what's wrong with it please let me know.
> 
> In the future as the fic moves forward if there is not date marked at the beginning of the chapter please assume that it is happening during the same day as the previous chapter.
> 
> The new measurement of time is CCF (Camp Cretaceous Fallen).
> 
> Furthermore yes, they came out of the tunnel at night. If it was announced that they had two hours to make it to the docks at sunset and all subsequent announcements backed this up one of two things happened #1 Nighttime is only two hours long in that universe, or #2 The writers forgot/got lazy, but I didn't, I saw that inconsistency and it has vexed me ever since I saw it the first time. So I fixed it.
> 
> Now, I've never outright stated my pronouns on here, because why would y'all be talking about me? Lol and why would y'all need to know? With everything going on right now though I kinda want to state them, just to make myself happy. Hope no one minds.
> 
> You don't have to do or say anything about it, I just want to put it out there. :)
> 
> My pronouns are primarily They/Them/Theirs, secondary He/Him/His, and my personal noun-self pronouns Saur/Saurn/Saurs, which I would use exclusively if people weren't such butts lol (seriously no one irl will even use They/Them for me) and yes it's Saur as in Dino-DNA and y'all are the only people I've shared my noun-self pronouns with so feel honored! XD
> 
> Anyways, thanks for your patience, thanks for listening, thanks for reading, and I hope y'all have a great one! Love y'all! <3


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